Asheville Reporter

Buncombe County officials are carefully evaluating the move to ease COVID-19 restrictions as many North Carolinians protested to reopen the state in recent weeks.

“Consider the consequences if we move to open things up too early or too fast: We risk losing all the gains and advantages our proactive and aggressive measures have afforded us,” Buncombe County Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Fletcher Tove said in a press conference, as reported by Mountain Xpress on April 20.

According to the Citizen-Times, Tove said the act of fully lifting social distancing measures is comparable to removing a working parachute while still 1,000 feet in the air.

“If we get rid of our parachute too early, we'll go into another free fall and if we have time to throw out another one, it will be smaller and more painful,” Tove told the publication. “So, we don’t want to waste the sacrifices we’ve made in our community by opening too early or too quickly.”

Tove told the publication that the county’s decision to reopen will be based on scientific data and public health expert recommendations. Buncombe County interim Public Health Director Jennifer Mullendore wants residents who are protesting the COVID-19 restrictions to know that the coronavirus is more contagious and deadly than the flu.

Buncombe County recently extended its stay-at-home order indefinitely to prevent community spread of COVID-19, the Citizen-Times reported in early April. Lawn care and landscaping, real estate and auto sales are now all considered essential businesses and can operate as long as they implement social distancing measures. Public and private gatherings of any size are prohibited, however, funerals and weddings are allowed, but may not exceed 10 people and social distancing practices must be followed. Residents are advised to wear cloth face coverings in public when it is difficult to maintain social distancing.

According to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, there have been more than 11,848 confirmed coronavirus cases in the state and 430 deaths related to the virus as of May 4. Buncombe County has had 77 COVID-19 cases and four coronavirus-related deaths.