House Republicans Call on Governor to End COVID-19 State of Emergency
| With the two-year anniversary of Gov. Cooper’s COVID-19 state of emergency declaration this Thursday, March 10, Representative Frank Iler and the entire House Republican Caucus today sent a letter to the Governor calling on him to end his emergency order and allow the state to move forward. The letter was spearheaded by Majority Leader John Bell of Wayne County. “It’s been two years since the order was put in place, and a lot has changed since then,” said Rep. Iler, “North Carolinians are done living in fear and are ready to move on. It’s past time that the order was lifted.” “After two years of executive orders that shut down businesses, restricted gatherings, closed schools, and mandated masks, the people of North Carolina are more than ready to move on,” the letter states. “As key metrics continue to fall and vaccines remain readily available to those who want one, there is no justification for a continued state of emergency.” The letter continues, “Simply put, there is no emergency. We urge you to immediately end your emergency order and allow our state to move forward.” The full letter can be found online here and below. Dear Governor Cooper, March 10th marks two years since you issued Executive Order No. 116 to unilaterally put the citizens of North Carolina under a state of emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. After two years of executive orders that shut down businesses, restricted gatherings, closed schools, and mandated masks, the people of North Carolina are more than ready to move on. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently announced it is dropping universal indoor mask recommendations, and school districts and local governments across our state are ending their mask mandates. Furthermore, new cases have plummeted in the past month — from a 7-day average of approximately 22,000 a month ago to approximately 3,000. Hospitalizations are down from 5,089 a month ago to 1,618. As these key metrics continue to fall and vaccines remain readily available to those who want one, there is no justification for a continued state of emergency. Simply put, there is no emergency. Yet, there is still no plan or exit strategy set forth by your Administration outlining how and when the nearly two-year state of emergency can be lifted. The people of North Carolina should not have to live under the continued threat and uncertainty of new emergency executive actions and restrictions that have severely impacted and limited their lives for the past two years. We urge you to immediately end your emergency order and allow our state to move forward. Thank you for your time and attention to this important issue. Sincerely, |
| Majority Leader John Bell Speaker Tim Moore Rep. Jay Adams Rep. Dean Arp Rep. Kristin Baker, MD Rep. Hugh Blackwell Rep. Jamie Boles Rep. John Bradford Rep. William Brisson Rep. Mark Brody Rep. Mike Clampitt Rep. George Cleveland Rep. Ted Davis, Jr. Rep. Jimmy Dixon Rep. Jeffrey Elmore Rep. John Faircloth Rep. Karl Gillespie Rep. Ed Goodwin Rep. Dudley Greene Rep. Destin Hall Rep. Kyle Hall Rep. Bobby Hanig Rep. Jon Hardister Rep. Kelly Hastings Rep. Julia Howard Rep. Chris Humphrey Rep. Pat Hurley Rep. Frank Iler Rep. Jake Johnson Rep. Brenden Jones Rep. Keith Kidwell Rep. Donny Lambeth Rep. Donnie Loftis Rep. Pat McElraft Rep. Jeffrey McNeely Rep. Allen McNeill Rep. Charlie Miller Rep. Grey Mills Rep. Tim Moffitt Rep. Ben Moss Rep. Erin Paré Rep. Howard Penny Rep. Ray Pickett Rep. Larry Pittman Rep. Mark Pless Rep. Larry Potts Rep. Reece Pyrtle Rep. Dennis Riddell Rep. David Rogers Rep. Jason Saine Rep. Wayne Sasser Rep. John Sauls Rep. Mitchell Setzer Rep. Phil Shepard Rep. Carson Smith Rep. Sarah Stevens Rep. Larry Strickland Rep. John Szoka Rep. John Torbett Rep. Steve Tyson Rep. Harry Warren Rep. Sam Watford Rep. Diane Wheatley Rep. Donna White Rep. David Willis Rep. Matthew Winslow Rep. Larry Yarborough Rep. Lee Zachary Rep. Jeff Zenger |