CHARLOTTE, N.C. — State Senator Jeff Jackson, who represents Mecklenburg County, announced on Twitter Thursday his grandfather passed away from the coronavirus. Jack Dutton served in the Navy during World War II and then ran a machine shop in Detroit for decades.
Senator Jackson has been working around the clock to help the state through the coronavirus pandemic. He says he never expected it to impact his family in this way and it’s shown him what's really at stake here.
“I’ve spent all day every day for the last two months working with coronavirus, either the public health angle or the economic angle, trying to help people get unemployment insurance, and it’s the most all-consuming task I have had in 6 years as a State Senator,” he said.
But outside of the job, it has had a profound impact on his life. His grandfather, who was living in a long-term care facility, passed away after testing positive.
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“My grandpa was just a classic 1950s father figure. He just lived the classic American story in Detroit and was nothing but a loving wonderful to me and my sister for his entire life,” said Jackson.
Nationwide, long term care facilities have become hot spots for the virus. While there are several strict rules in place at long term care facilities in North Carolina, he says it's the rest of the population who really needs to take safety measures seriously.
"My grandpa, he didn't go out and get infected. He didn't go grocery shopping or go bowling. Someone was infected and brought it in, which means even though we have very vulnerable populations, it's still on us, less vulnerable populations to take all the precautions that we can because that virus is going to find a way into these long term care facilities,” he said.
His loss giving him a new perspective as he works to help slowly and safely reopen the state. He thinks if hospitals will not be overwhelmed, it’s safe to move forward into phase 2 in the coming weeks.
“Let there be no question. I know exactly what’s at stake because it’s impacted our family. I'm sure my grandpa would want me and all of us working as hard as we possibly could that we minimize the loss of life going forward and that’s what we're going to work to do,” said Jackson.
The state legislature goes back to work on Monday. Everyone who enters the building will have their temperature taken. Senator Jackson says he'll be wearing a mask and expects his colleagues to do the same. They’ll be social distancing within the chambers, too. Staff will not be sitting in the chamber and senators will spread out so they’re not sitting next to each other.
