Greenville, N.C. – Congressman Greg Murphy, M.D. (NC-03) released the following statement after Governor Roy Cooper announced elective surgeries may resume effective immediately in the state of North Carolina.

“As a practicing surgeon I have supported the important directive to restrict elective surgeries in our state’s health care systems. We needed time to increase testing and accumulate personal protective equipment (PPE). This action has had severe collateral effects. Hospitals’ finances have plummeted, health care staffs have been furloughed and patient care has been postponed. Now that we have sufficient quantities to allow testing preoperatively for COVID-19, we need to begin working through the tremendous backlog of patients who have not received care over the past six weeks,” said Murphy.

“We have had cancers that have not been diagnosed as well as ones that have not been treated. We have patients who have been placed on opioids rather than having their surgery to deal with their pain. The list goes on and on. We have appropriately expended the majority of our energy on COVID-19, but we must remember not to neglect those other diseases that lead to severe morbidity and even loss of life. So I am now glad that our state’s physicians and surgeons can address the needs of those patients who need care that has been postponed due to the COVID crisis now that elective surgeries are allowed to resume in North Carolina.”