A North Carolina woman active in a movement demanding that businesses in her state be allowed to reopen was reportedly in quarantine after testing positive for coronavirus.
Audrey Whitlock, a moderator on the Facebook page “Reopen NC,” missed the group’s first two rallies in Raleigh, fellow organizer Ashley Smith told NBC affiliate WRAL.
Whitlock tested positive three weeks ago, according to Smith.
People gather outside of the North Carolina Legislative Building to protest stay-at-home orders in Raleigh on April 28, 2020.Gerry Broome / AP
“She never left her house during her quarantine, so she has not been at any rally or any of the functions that we’ve done,” Smith said.
Whitlock had acknowledged testing positive, but told Facebook followers that her quarantine had ended on Sunday and was expecting to be at an anti-lockdown rally on Tuesday.
“I will take a stand every day until we are a free people again, to sound the alarm because someone has to do the right thing in the face of wrong,” Whitlock wrote, according to WRAL.
But Whitlock changed her mind and decided to remain indoors, according to Smith.
About 200 people protested in downtown Raleigh on Tuesday, calling for an end to Gov. Roy Cooper’s month-old stay-at-home order.
At least four people were arrested at Tuesday’s protest, including Smith.
