Friday, March 20, 2020
The impact of the coronavirus becomes clear in Mecklenburg County and around the state as commerce shuts down and the number of local cases begins to rise. It’s a new world, and our roundtable of reporters has the latest on that and other stories.
The outbreak of coronavirus continues to have an increased impact on daily life, here and around the world. North Carolina now has more than 100 cases confirmed, with more than 30 in Mecklenburg County alone.
Charlotte bars and restaurants aren’t able to have patrons sit in their establishments, and some restaurant owners say they may not be able to recover from the restrictions, laying off employees and cutting back hours.
Schools are out throughout the state via an order by Gov. Roy Cooper, and teachers around the state are preparing for online school.
Gyms, health clubs and theaters are closing around the county and beyond.
Financial markets are in turmoil with several record market plunges in just the last few days.
People all over the Charlotte region and the nation are working from home and county officials saywe could soon be under a “shelter-in-place” order. We’ll bring you up to date on the latest, including the latest on stimulus efforts in Congress.
Other news continues, even with a worldwide pandemic, though- including the likelihood that Cam Newton is leaving the Panthers after the organization gave the quarterback permission to seek a trade and after the team entered into a three-year, $63 million deal with free-agent Teddy Bridgewater this week.
And in other Panthers news, veteran safety Eric Reid has been released.
We’ll talk about those stories and more, on the next Charlotte Talks local news roundup.
Guests:
Erik Spanberg, managing editor for theCharlotte Business Journal
Jonathan Lowe, anchor/reporter for Spectrum News
Steve Harrison, WFAE’s political reporter
Annie Ma, education reporter for the Charlotte Observer
