With over 500,000 cases of COVID-19 throughout the United States and the country in an economic spiral, the question of when the country will reopen has come in many forms. Senator Carl Ford, representing District 33 in the NC Senate posted on Facebook that Governor Cooper is contemplating extending the shutdown until June.

In Lenoir County, there are officially 14 cases of COVID-19. Local business owner Waylon Adams started a conversation on Facebook about the economic impact of the Governor’s Stay-At-Home mandate.

“This is about people’s livelihoods,” said Adams. “I’m sure our restaurants and salons would have been more than happy to rearrange their dining rooms to comply with social distancing.”

States like California, Oregon, and Washington teaming up to lift coronavirus restrictions, and New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Delaware said on Monday they would work together on a plan for reopening.

Strategies including social distancing, taking temperatures at the door, and staggered entry can help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“These are great strategies; however, risk would still exist depending on other factors, such as the size and spacing of the business. For example, would people be in close proximity to one another for more than 10 minutes--sitting in a restaurant with 6 feet between tables?” asked Pam Brown, the Director Lenoir County Health Department.

According to Brown new information shows someone could pass the virus to another person 48 hours before becoming symptomatic and some people develop no symptoms. Keeping people apart is more important as a strategy to prevent community spread.

The Kinston-Lenoir County Chamber of Commerce says they have communicated to local businesses, even if they aren’t members, that if they have changed their business model because of COVID-19, the chamber will help them get the businesses new information out. The chamber has sent out information to local area businesses about relief programs and loans to their members.

“We are trying to have a delicate balance between community health and economic prosperity, it’s an impossible task that we’re all in. You can protect the public health and gradually open businesses back up,” said Executive Director of Kinston-Lenoir County Chamber of Commerce Craig Hill.

Lenoir County does not have more local restrictions than those already imposed by Governor Cooper. There has been confusion among local business owners why some businesses could stay open.

“I see the discrepancies between big box stores and small businesses, it’s hard to apply a sense of reason to some of it. When people are piled up at grocery stores,” said Hill.

The Beauty Box owner, Tonya Adams, understands that the people in the community are facing different economic burdens. She has a large mortgage on a building downtown that she fears the continued ability to pay during the shutdown.

“I haven’t made a dime since the shut down of non-essential businesses,” said Tonya Adams. “I can’t do drive through service. I can’t do anything.”

State and local officials need transparent and direct communication to ease the questions of the small businesses in Lenoir County. With the curve in the United States appearing to be on the downward slope, the pandemic seems to have slowed in the country.