Editor’s note: Port City Daily is pleased to share the following episode of the Collective Voice podcast, featuring journalist and author Kevin Maurer and produced by Cape Fear Collective (CFC). You can find more episodes of the podcast here, and more detailed information about CFC here.
Cape Fear Collective Podcast
Above: Listen to the podcast.
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.
About the contributor: Founded in 2019, the Cape Fear Collective (CFC) is a collective impact and data science nonprofit backbone organization based in Wilmington, North Carolina. Born out of the corporate sector, CFC’s mission is to scale big data, fundraising, social innovation, and large-scale initiative management to a six-county region in Southeastern North Carolina. CFC employs data scientists, strategists, journalists, and process improvement experts who partner with anchor institutions from across the region. Together, they create sustainable impact programs that address social progress across a variety of sectors including economic development, health and human services, climate change, and housing.
