OVERKILL: Social Distancing Enforcement Gone Too Far?

RALEIGH – Everyone is busy trying to maintain six feet from one another, which is usually easier to do outside. Actually, with our beautiful spring weather settling in, going to the park for fresh air and sunshine is a good way to break up the monotony of virtual house arrest.

BUT, health officers want you to snap out of it, and get back in your cell!

Mecklenburg County Health Director Gibbie Harris is one of them, as reported in the Charlotte Observer:

“[…] “Yesterday, our parks were packed with people. Social distancing was not even an option,” Harris said at Sunday’s press conference. “These are presenting situations where we will see individuals exposed in ways that are against our stay-at-home order.”

Under Mecklenburg’s stay-at-home order, residents are “allowed to go out and exercise, but we have emphasized that people need to be six feet apart. Social-distancing is critical in this situation, and the parks — there were way more people than — you couldn’t social-distance even if you wanted to,” Harris said. […]”

And, just in case you thought the less urban counties maybe taking a more reasonable approach to encouraging social distancing, think again.

Burke County- Morganton Parks and Recreation is also taking down all of rims at the basketball courts. pic.twitter.com/KpsFpABDAP

— Dave Faherty (@FahertyWSOC9) March 30, 2020

They took down ALL THE BASKETBALL RIMS. Shooting hoops by yourself, or playing horse with the kiddo? UNACCEPTABLE RISK OF CONTAGION!

You can still dribble on the court, though, so they might want to think about ways to discourage that as well. A bed of nails? Rings of fire?

Of course, they could skip to the end and just handcuff us all to our house. Don’t worry; they’d unlock us to take essential trips.