Sheriff Steve C. Hiatt has decided neither he nor his deputies will enforce part of Gov. Roy Cooper’s stay-at-home order.
In a letter posted on the Surry County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page, on Surry County Sheriff’s Office letterhead and signed by Hiatt, he said he would do nothing to prevent local churches from gathering for services and other worship activities, even though the governor’s order prohibits such public gatherings in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19.
“I understand the severity of the coronavirus and the need to change certain ways we interact, communicate, and gather with individuals to help slow the spread of the virus,” he wrote in the letter. “As a community, I believe we can do this without infringing upon our first amendment rights! As Sheriff of County, the deputies and I, took an oath that we would endeavor to support, maintain, and defend the Constitution for the people of this country and this county.
“As long as I am your Sheriff, me nor my deputies will set aside that oath to interfere or prevent church goers to peaceably assemble and exercise their constitutional right to freely worship.”
Cooper issued the stay-at-home order on March 27, then modified the order on May 8 for the state to begin a graduated reopening, while trying to increase the state’s capacity to test for the disease and trace contacts for those who have tested positive.
The stay-at-home order closed many businesses, shut down most social gatherings, and ordered churches to not meet because the virus spreads easily and quickly among large gatherings. Many area churches have opted to move to virtual services, with ministers and singers engaging with congregations through various online platforms.
Under Phase One of the graduated reopening plan, churches were still to remain closed, or limit themselves to outdoor gatherings with social distance guidelines observed.
In the letter, dated May 14 and posted online that day, the sheriff says he will not enforce that portion of the stay-at-home order.
Hiatt joins a growing list of officials and agencies across the state who are taking issue with the governor’s orders. Earlier last week the sheriffs in Lee and Harnett counties said they would defy the governor’s order, and two churches along with a Winston-Salem minister and a conservative religious group have filed suit in federal court seeking to lift the restriction in Cooper’s executive order.
Neither Hiatt nor Cooper’s office returned telephone calls seeking additional comment. Cooper has said his executive orders have been aimed at trying to slow, or stop, the spread of COVID-19, based upon recommendations from the CDC and state health officials.
Federal and state health authorities have generally said people should avoid large gatherings, since that seems to create so-called hot spots where the virus spreads quickly.
Locally, Surry County has seen its cases climb from just 13 on April 29 to 75 as of late Friday afternoon. In commenting on a different story earlier in the week, Maggie Simmons, assistant health director of the Surry County Health and Nutrition Center, said much of the recent increase can be attributed to family and social gatherings, where people are not practicing social distancing.
Statewide, as of Friday morning, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported 17,129 cases, with 641 deaths.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com