CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. hosted a conversation about COVID-19 called, "Where are we now," for its public meeting. The roundtable format at Le Meridien Hotel included an esteemed panel of local leaders and doctors.
Mecklenburg County Health Director Dr. Raynard Washington started the conversation by saying the country is in a good place with COVID-19 levels lower than they've been at any point. He also reminded guests should still be mindful of the tools to stay healthy, like having a mask at your disposal.
"If the conditions are too risky, you might want to put it on," he said.
Other topics of discussion directly or indirectly due to COVID-19 included mental health, education, and government.
North Carolina Rep. Alma Adams (D), said there are residual effects of COVID-19, including systemic racism.
"The pandemic just pulled the cover off of a lot of things that many of us in our community already knew, a lot of folks were not as aware of," Adams said. "So it was not as visible."
Adams said her fellow lawmakers are trying to work on other fallout issues from the pandemic.
"Parents are at home, because they don't have the resources to put their children in daycare," Adams said. "So that's what we're trying to do. In the Congress, we got a lot of legislation that will help you possibly get a lot of that with the Rescue Act, and all the other things that we did to put money in people's pockets and put the funds out there to make sure that people got the vaccines.
Doctors on the panel said they can't predict the future, saying we need to stay on guard and take personal responsibility for the safety and health of ourselves and the people around us.
Contact Jane Monreal at jmonreal@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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