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As expected on Wednesday of this week, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper unveiled his vision for our state to return to what is being called the “new normal.”

There were no big surprises in the Governor’s plan, one that takes a methodical approach to easing off on some COVID-19 restrictions.

We agree with Gov. Cooper and other medical experts that no one will feel completely safe from this highly contagious and deadly virus until there is a proven vaccine to fight it as well as effective treatments to help those with it to cope and overcome the symptoms.

We must do everything within possible through medical research and government intervention to protect individuals who are the most vulnerable to this virus….those over age 65 and those with underlying health conditions, to include those with weakened immune systems.

Whatever restrictions are lifted, we urge that they be made slowly and with fact-based research. Those changes need to be carefully analyzed, making sure it has no impact on the population, before initiating ensuing changes.

With all the progress we’ve made collectively by staying primarily at home and practicing social distancing when we are in public places, we can ill afford to take any steps backwards, especially with a secondary outbreak.

In some ways, we’ve already begun the process of facing a new normal. Local churches, in an effort to feed the spiritual need of their parishioners, are offering “drive-up” services on Sunday mornings. It’s a fairly simple process…hop in your car, drive to your church, find a spot in the parking lot, roll down the car window, and listen to the Word of God being shared by a pastor standing outside on a porch or makeshift stage.

That does not violate any of Cooper’s restrictions, and he earlier gave it his blessing.

We commend our local clergy members for this innovative means of worship. No individual is placed in harm’s way for health reasons due to the fact they are not gathered inside a single structure.

Meanwhile, other local pastors are reaching out to their flocks through electronic means, especially via Facebook Live. They are holding Wednesday night and Sunday morning services that way.

Even though the world has seemingly stopped spinning and the things we enjoyed doing several months ago are either no longer allowed or severely restricted, we are still blessed to have those who are looking out for our best interests, to include fulfilling our spiritual needs.

There is light at the end of the tunnel. It still may be a while before we reach our eventual destination, but, in the meantime, we need to continue to follow the advice of our medical professionals and government leaders. Together we can flatten the curve and drastically reduce – hopefully to zero – the number of new COVID-19 cases.

– The Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald