Been on an airplane recently? You will be forced to wear a mask. Packed like sheep, it’s okay to eat without your mask on, but you’d better make a show of putting your mask on “for the safety of others.” It’s COVID theater, rather than COVID facts.

Locke CEO Amy Cooke looks at the absurdity of the continued state of emergency in this edition of Locke’d & Loaded. Here’s hoping Gov. Roy Cooper and Dr. Mandy Cohen take note. It’s well past time to acknowledge facts and reject fear.

As Locke’s Jon Sanders wrote just days ago:

This past week over 99.7% of people in NC were estimated to pose no threat of passing along COVID-19 to anyone, and nearly nine out of 10 (89.5%) adult North Carolinians are estimated to have either vaccine-induced or natural immunity.