Old North News

In North Carolina some are starting to talk about a lack of transparency in COVID-19 information coming from the office of Gov. Roy Cooper.

Cooper's plan released April 15 cites progress in three areas: testing, tracing, and trends. But there was no mention of transparency in the address that day.

Rick Henderson, editor of the Carolina Journal wrote, “At least one more 'T' was missing from the governor’s outline: transparency. Yes, Cooper’s rival Lt. Gov. Dan Forest posted the sentiment on Twitter. But it’s a valid concern we’ve raised since early March, when Cooper issued his first emergency order tied to the COVID-19 outbreak.

"We’ve sent questions to the governor, asking for details of his blueprint for what he began calling 'the new normal.' So far the response? Crickets.

"But this isn’t about us. More than 10 million North Carolinians have a right to know when they can hope to return to work, to school, to church, to family and friends and other social gatherings. They deserve to know with some detail how the new normal might be phased in. What might speed up the process and what could slow it down.”

Questions of testing for and accuracy in tracking COVID-19 also have arisen.

State officials say 213 individuals had died of COVID-19 as of April 21 but that total only includes individuals who were tested for COVID-19 and had a positive result. Individuals with similar symptoms but who were not tested are not included in this count, even if a doctor suspected they might have COVID-19. That could skew the tracking of the condition and could provide an inaccurate picture of how North Carolina as a whole is faring, some residents argue.

Colin Campbell, a journalist with the News & Observer (@RaleighReporter), tweeted April 22, in response to a tweet about death certificate information being withheld from the press: “The lack of transparency we're seeing can erode trust in the government response ... which I think can be dangerous at a time when our leaders are asking us to make big sacrifices for the good of our community. #ncpol #ncga

The tweet he was responding to was from Twitter user Will Doran (@will_doran), who wrote: “State law makes death certificates a public record, but the Cooper administration is now telling counties to withhold those records from the press. They also told counties to direct reporters to the DHHS team--but they aren't responding to any questions #ncpol #ncga https://twitter.com/carlibrosseau/status/1252786762499448832”

Campbell also responded to Doran's thread: “Basically, DHHS is sealing up records that have always been public #ncpol”

Also on April 22, WBTV investigative reporter Nick Oschner tweeted:

“More transparency troubles: I've been asking for a week what NC Department of Military & Veterans Affairs is doing to ensure proper care at the state's for veterans homes. They didn't answer at all until yesterday and still haven't given any specifics #ncpol”

Doran defended the media's right to know, saying, “This isn't the media being nosey and trying to bother grieving families. It's about knowing how deadly COVID-19 is, where the hot spots are, and other public health info. It also leads to issues like this where counties say they have no deaths even if the state says they do.” 

He embedded a text that discussed Wayne County in particular, noting there have been at least six coronavirus related deaths and that none of the death certificates that have been provided by the county’s register of deeds list COVID-19 as a cause or contributing factor.

Doran said this could lead people to think their community is safe from the pandemic when that might be the case.