Graham County 1 of just 7 remaining without confirmed case in state
Things are getting better, but a few issues still exist for those attempting to enforce executive orders issued by Gov. Roy Cooper.
During the Graham County Emergency Management Coordination Committee teleconference Monday, members discussed the rising popularity of “drive-in” church services, where followers assemble in parking lots and stay in their vehicles while a service is taking place.
Graham County Commission Chairman Dale Wiggins pointed out that a quick scan through Facebook on Sunday revealed that several churches are not following proper “social distancing” protocol and also exceeding the maximum amount of people allowed to convene in one space at this time, which is 10.
“I was amazed at how careless some people were willing to be,” Wiggins said. “All these things are very serious measures – and some people stay home six days a week, won’t go to town or speak to people – but then they head off to church and walk around in the parking lot, talking to people and shaking hands.
“You never know who’s there that could be symptomatic; they might have the virus and not be sick. We need to remind everyone how serious this is. It’s tough to try to remember everything you need to do, but it’s important.”
Graham County Manager Becky Garland spoke to Graham County Health Department Director Beth Booth later in the call about the topic.
Garland said Buncombe County has already put church gatherings on hold. While the N.C. Department of Health & Human Services’ website indicates that the cumulative numbers have begun to flatten out, the risk of exposure is still high.
“People can get complacent and suddenly think it’s OK to be out and about,” Garland said. “Staying at home is what’s helping with the plateau (of numbers).”
Booth agreed to reach out to Buncombe County for further explanation. “The death rate is doubling about every three days, but the number of those diagnosed is starting to slow,” she said. “However, you don’t know if that’s because people are just not getting tested, or if the rate is actually slowing.”
Checkpoints
Though a few still want to defy the identification checkpoints put in place at Graham County borders – several vehicles bypassed the checkpoints without stopping Sunday and Monday – the general consensus is that most are cooperating with the procedure.
“I don’t think we’ve had any trouble at Topton; it’s just been at Tapoco,” Graham County Sheriff Joseph Jones said. “Some of them we haven’t caught – one with a Tennessee (license) plate, we couldn’t find them last week – but they caught one this morning. If they’re non-residents, they’re being turned around.”
“I’m very proud of all the county employees and what they’re doing right now,” Wiggins added. “Everybody is working so hard to keep our folks safe.”
Permits
Garland also supplied the most up-to-date numbers available for non-residential permits that have been issued by Graham County.
As of 5 p.m. Friday, 1,326 permits have been issued. Of those, 680 have been for work/business. However, Garland stressed that the majority of those went to businesses that were concerned about personnel being allowed into the county, not individual businesses themselves.
Meanwhile, 371 have went to non-residents. Houseboats have received 167 and medical/health-care permits total 108.
“We had a problem in the beginning with people trying to pass pontoon (boats) off,” Garland said of the houseboat permits. “We’ve gotten quite a bit of pushback from people about why a houseboat can be permitted, but yet they can’t come see their home. We’ve tried to explain that it’s because the water levels on Fontana Lake are rising.”
The committee also agreed to pause issuing any part-time residental permits until Wednesday, April 29, which will coincide with the end of Cooper’s Stay-at-Home Order.
“The states that we border – and many we don’t – have all issued Stay-at-Home Orders,” Wiggins added. “Wherever these people are that are wanting in here, they have already been ordered to stay shut-in in their own home state.
“They should respect our statewide order and their statewide order.”