Season 1: Episode 25

Woody White

Promo

In This Episode

In this episode, we’re talking to New Hanover Commissioner Woody White and Dr. Paul Kamitsuka, chief epidemiologist at New Hanover Regional Medical Center. We start with Commissioner White. We talk about his concerns about the impact of the broad social distancing restrictions, how his criticism is being received by the community and how the pandemic is influencing the ongoing debate of the sale of the hospital. Next, we talk with Dr. Kamitsuka, who gives us a rundown on how the hospital is prepared for the pandemic, when we might see the peak and why he feels social distancing has helped the community.

FURTHER READING

As we all unpack the debate over reopening the economy, we found this survey from The Initiative on Global Markets from the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago. The Policy for the COVID-19 Crisis found almost unanimous support from 50 of the top economists in the country for tolerating a very large contraction in economic activity until the spread of infections has dropped significantly. They also argue reopening too soon – when the likelihood of a resurgence in infections remains high – will lead to greater total economic damage.

At the end of March, the American Enterprise Institute published a National coronavirus response: A road map to reopening. The report provides a plan for transitioning from widespread mitigation strategies to start reopening America for businesses.