CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The state of North Carolina is launching a new task force to help address disparities in communities of color that have been hardest hit by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
The Andrea Harris Social, Economic, Environmental and Health Equity Task Force will be lead by Department of Administration Secretary Machelle Sander, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper announced Thursday.
"I want to be clear, there is nothing inherent to black or brown people that makes them more susceptible to severe COVID-19 illness The data should not be used to further racism or fear," Cooper said. "The disparity is because people of color have historically had less access to healthcare, housing, economic opportunity and more. This virus is exploiting those inequalities and it’s up to us to do something about it."
The task force will focus on five areas: access to health care; patient engagement in health care settings; economic opportunities in business development and employment; environmental justice and inclusion; and education.
"My order directs the North Carolina Pandemic Recovery Office to ensure that COVID-19 relief funds are fairly distributed," Cooper said. "It also expands the capacity of our North Carolina Historically Underutilized Business Office to provide those businesses access to opportunities & resources."
The Department of Health and Human Services announced nearly 1,200 new cases Thursday. There are currently over 31,000 cases statewide and sadly, 960 people have died.
Cooper also took some questions on the Republican National Convention, which is scheduled to be in Charlotte this August. Earlier this week, Cooper rejected the RNC's request for a full-fledged convention, which would allow 20,000 people inside Spectrum Center without masks or social distancing requirements.
"Let me make this clear," Gov. Cooper said. "We want the RNC convention in North Carolina. We want to make sure that it is held in a safe way to protect the health of North Carolinians."
RNC officials issued a statement Wednesday saying unless Cooper changed the rules to allow more than 10 people in a room, the convention would be held in another city.
Dr. Mandy Cohen said the state needs to watch our coronavirus trends as people gather in large groups to protest. Cohen said if you attended any mass gathering, you should get tested.
"We want folks that may have been at a mass gathering whether that was a protest or somewhere else, like a Speedway to potentially think about getting tested," Cohen said.
Gov. Cooper mentioned that the state could enter a Phase 2.5, which would allow more businesses to re-open that are unable to in Phase 2.
Cooper said that decision will come from following the data.
"We're gonna let the science and the data drive decisions here," Gov. Cooper said. "Dr. Cohen and her team are looking at these numbers every day.
Gov. Cooper said we can't get too caught up in looking at the day-to-day numbers.
"You don't want to be so affected by numbers on one day, you want to look at a trend over a period of time," Gov. Cooper said.
