One of the leaders of ReOpen NC group says she tested positive for COVID-19
One of the leaders of a group opposing Gov. Roy Cooper’s stay-at-home measures aimed at slowing the coronavirus spread has identified herself as having tested positive for the virus.
Audrey S. Whitlock, who is an administrator on the ReOpen NC Facebook page, posted a message to the group saying she tested positive and that her quarantine period ended on Sunday.
The information was included in a long post where she spoke out against the restrictions Cooper’s executive orders have on the state through May 8.
“As an asymptomatic COVID19 positive patient (quarantine ends 4/26),” Whitlock posted on Sunday, “another concern I have is the treatment of COVID patients as it relates to other communicable diseases. I have been forced to quarantine in my home for 2 weeks.”
Attempts to reach Whitlock for comment Sunday and Monday were unsuccessful. The News & Observer’s news partner, ABC-11, reported that Whitlock confirmed she tested positive but refused comment when asked whether she attended ReOpen NC’s protests in downtown Raleigh the last two Tuesdays.
In the information Whitlock posted on ReOpen NC’s private Facebook page, she complained that the quarantine violated her civil rights.
“I have been told not to participate in public or private accommodations as requested by the government, and therefore denied my 1st amendment right of freedom of religion,” Whitlock wrote. “If I were an essential employee, I would be denied access to my job by my employer and the government, though compensated, those with other communicable diseases are afforded the right to work. It has been insinuated by others that if I go out, I could be arrested for denying a quarantine order. However, the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination by employers, places of public accommodation, and state and local government entities. . Where do we draw the line?”
According to the Centers for Disease Control, breaking a state or federal quarantine is a criminal offense.
ReOpen NC has its third rally planned for Tuesday at 11 a.m. at the Legislative Building in Raleigh.
In a subsequent post, Whitlock said she and her husband traveled separately to the west coast earlier this year. A couple of weeks later in February, she said, three in her household became ill.
“We all had severe coughs and I was having trouble breathing at night,” Whitlock said, “waking gasping for air.”
She said one of her children saw a doctor and was told it was a weak case of the flu. No coronavirus test was performed at that time, she said.
“When they started doing antibody testing (select labs) I went and had one done just out of curiosity to see if what I had in Feb was COVID,” Whitlock said. “The test came back positive for COVID and negative for the antibodies, so I had a CDC test performed.”
Whitlock said Mecklenburg County’s health department never contacted her about the positive test or to check who she had been in contact with.
“So this testing and tracing that Cooper is talking about, I have first hand experience that it did not exist in my case,” Whitlock said. “After an abundance of caution I notified my primary care physician who advised me on what to do, and I have been in my house ever since!“
This story was originally published April 27, 2020 at 12:10 PM with the headline "One of the leaders of ReOpen NC group says she tested positive for COVID-19."