Protesters honk their horns in uptown demanding Meck County reopens now

CHARLOTTE — Dozens of people were in uptown Charlotte on Friday, demanding that Mecklenburg County reopens soon.

Local and state leaders have said they are hopeful they can start reopening in a week, but that’s not soon enough for the protesters who were out at Trade and Tryon Friday morning.

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Protests to reopen NC come to uptown Charlotte pic.twitter.com/j8xz2Z9Ft3
— Mark Becker (@MarkBeckerWSOC9) May 1, 2020

They want everything reopened now, including restaurants and other businesses.

Jeannette Wilson loaded her minivan with five kids and had a message that it’s time to get back to work.

“I have family members that have been affected by this,” Wilson said. “My sister has a small clothing store in Concord and it’s a risk of being shut down permanently.”

Everyone who participated in the rally was asked to wear masks, gloves and to stay inside their car.

Chopper 9 Skyzoom flew over the rally and could see people holding signs. On the ground, Channel 9 crews could see people waving those signs and a stream of vehicles driving by, honking their horns.

Cynthia Roeth is a swim coach who's temporarily out of work.

“I’m here because we are in the midst of being on the brink of an economic collapse, and that is not healthy for anyone,” Roeth said.

A little loud uptown as the Reopen NC rally rolls through pic.twitter.com/valxV1kUir
— Mark Becker (@MarkBeckerWSOC9) May 1, 2020

The ReOpenMeck group started on Facebook. A lot of the members are business owners and employees that are losing income from their lack of work.

“We have Democrats, unaffiliated and Republicans, all coming together here, coalescing over this issue that businesses all over the county need to reopen,” said Maya Pillai, ReOpen Meck organizer.

Business forced to lay off workers, frustrated no PPP money coming in

The rally was intended to be an offshoot of the ReOpenNC movement we’ve been seeing at the state capitol.

Lots of Trump supporters at open NC rally in uptown CLT but organizers say it’s “not political” pic.twitter.com/2UKGFSgqM5
— Mark Becker (@MarkBeckerWSOC9) May 1, 2020

They’re demanding the governor lift the stay-at-home order all at once instead of in phases.

“I mean, I want the city to open up but at the same time, our health is more important isn’t it?” said Craig Allen, who is an opponent to fully reopening the county. “It’s just crazy.”

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Gov. Cooper says we could see Phase 1 of the state reopening a week from today. But salons, barbershops and restaurant dining wouldn’t be allowed to resume until 2 or 3 weeks after that.