As doctors and medical professionals, we applaud Gov. Roy Cooper for following public health guidelines, science and best practices in outlining conditions for a Republican Party convention to be held in North Carolina safely and responsibly.

Gov. Cooper’s requirement that convention delegates wear masks and practice social distancing of at least six feet between individuals aligns with science-based best practices to reduce the likelihood of COVID-19 transmission. Research shows that wearing a mask can reduce the spread of the airborne coronavirus by as much as 75 percent. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention further recommend people stay at least 6 feet apart to minimize infections.

In addition to rigorous hygiene practices such as hand washing and robust screening, masks and 6-feet distancing are essential to reining in COVID-19 infections in North Carolina. Without these safeguards, allowing people to crowd close together in an enclosed convention site opens the door to more sickness from COVID-19.

The coronavirus has already sickened 31,000 North Carolinians and killed close to 1,000 people in our state. COVID-19 cases are going up in North Carolina. The proposed site of the Republican Party’s convention, Mecklenburg County, has the highest number of infections and deaths than any other county in North Carolina. Crowding thousands of people in an enclosed setting for long periods of time, with no face masks, is an invitation to a COVID-19 outbreak.

Gov. Cooper’s request that the Republican Party require convention delegates to wear masks and observe 6-feet distancing is reasonable and in line with science and public health best practices. In fact, overlooking these two fundamental safeguards would be irresponsible. The Republican Party leadership should welcome Gov. Cooper and his public health experts’ recommendations to keep delegates, their families and North Carolinians safe during the convention and beyond.

We are glad the Republican Party chose to downsize its convention activities in Charlotte. Like many North Carolinians, we believe the convention is a great opportunity to welcome visitors to our state and enjoy all that we have to offer, while exercising personal responsibility and good public health practices by wearing masks and standing 6 feet apart. We urge the Republican Party not to endanger North Carolinians simply because its leadership refuses to follow the advice of science and public health experts to wear a mask.

As the Republican Party plans to move the acceptance speech and celebration to another state, we sincerely hope its attendees will still choose to wear masks and stand 6 feet apart to minimize the spread of COVID-19. More than 115,000 Americans have already died from COVID-19, and the death toll continues to grow. The federal government has still not put a mass nationwide testing plan in place, nor does it have a plan to trace and isolate infections. A vaccine is months away and no standard evidence-based treatment has been identified.

Now is not the time to ignore basic science. Now is not the time to ditch the mask and pretend COVID-19 is over. More than ever, now is the time to redouble our efforts to stem COVID-19. And that includes wearing a mask and standing 6 feet apart.

Elizabeth Abernathy, MD; Internal Medicine (Charlotte, NC)

Katherine Addison, MD; Pediatrician (Charlotte, NC)

Onyinyechi Agbara, MD; Radiology (Pinehurst, NC)

James Alderman, MD; Pediatrician (Charlotte, NC)

William James Alexander, MD; Internal Medicine & Infectious Disease (Cary, NC)

Sheila Anko, MD; Pediatrician (Matthews, NC)

Shazia Arain, MD; Internal Medicine (Huntersville, NC)

Nichole Arkfeld, MD; Geriatrics/Internal Medicine (Charlotte, NC)

Bruce Bacot, MD; Pulmonologist (Asheville, NC)

Melanie Bamert, MD; Anesthesiologist (Charlotte, NC)

Summer Barlow, MD; Family Physician (Asheville, NC)

G Ruffin Benton III, MD; Family Medicine (Brevard, NC)

Nick Bird, MD; Family Medicine (Chapel Hill, NC)

Crystal Bowe, MD, MPH; Family Medicine (Gastonia, NC)

Michael Brown, MD; Family Medicine (Waynesville, NC)

James Bryan, MD; Ophthalmologist (Chapel Hill, NC)

Catherine Cabungcal, MD; Internal Medicine (Winterville, NC)

Janie Chai, MD; Pediatrician (Charlotte, NC)

Erin Cook, MD; OB/GYN (Charlotte, NC)

Evan Corey, MD; Primary Care & Sports Medicine (Greensboro, NC)

Deanna Cornelius, MD; Psychiatrist (Lancaster, NC)

Jaclyn Davis, MD; Emergency Medicine (Charlotte, NC)

Sima Desai, MD; Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (Charlotte, NC)

Brett Dorfman, MD; Otolaryngology (Raleigh, NC)

Melora Driver, MD; Emergency Medicine (Davidson, NC)

Linda Dula, DO; Family Medicine (Asheville, NC)

Timothy Farmer, MD; Hospitalist (Asheville, NC)

Amanda Ferguson, MD; Critical Care (Charlotte, NC)

Rachael Fournet, MD; Pediatrician (Charlotte, NC)

Robert Nevill Gates, MD; Internal Medicine (Greensboro, NC)

Ann-Jeannette Geib, MD; Emergency Medicine (Charlotte, NC)

Daniel Gordon, MD; Radiology (Fayetteville, NC)

George Graning, MD; Family Physician (Sylva, NC)

Cynthia Guy, MD; Pathology (Chapel Hill, NC)

Stephen Hardy, MD; Pediatrician (Thomasville, NC)

Jennie Hauschka, MD; OB/GYN (Charlotte, NC)

Rebecca Hayes, MD; Family Medicine (Concord, NC)

Melissa Hicks, MD; Family Medicine (Asheville, NC)

Jenny Hinson, MD; Internal Medicine/Pediatrics (Albemarle, NC)

Wheeler Jarvis, MD; Pulmonary & Critical Care (Charlotte, NC)

Ronald Johnson, MD; Family Medicine (Arden, NC)

Leslie Kammire, Associate Professor; Gynecology (Winston Salem, NC)

Laurence Kempton, MD; Orthopedic Surgeon (Charlotte, NC)

Anne Keifer, MD; Anesthesiology (Cary, NC)

Emily Kingsley, MD; Internal Medicine - Pediatrics (Waynesville, NC)

Sara Kirby, MD; Emergency Medicine (Charlotte, NC)

Robyn Koeppen, MD; Family Physician (Denver, NC)

Tia Konzer, DO; Psychiatry (Mooresville, NC)

Kathy Kopec, DO; Emergency Medicine (Charlotte, NC)

James Larson, MD; Orthopedics (Pinehurst, NC)

Peter Larson, MD; Hematology/Oncology (Durham, NC)

Cynthia Lauer, MD; Trauma Surgeon (Charlotte, NC)

Charles Lefler, MD; Internal Medicine (Brevard, NC)

J Ann Lentini, MD; GP (Hendersonville, NC)

Nadine Lettman-Carswell, MD; Emergency Medicine (Charlotte, NC)

Mausumi Lidogoster, MD; Neurologist (Charlotte, NC)

Tara Lods, MD; Pediatrician (Concord, NC)

Kimmery Martin, MD; Emergency Medicine (Charlotte, NC)

Amanda McDowell, MD; Pediatrician (Charlotte, NC)

Howard Mell, MD; Emergency Medicine (Cornelius, NC)

Christine Murphy, MD; Emergency Medicine (Charlotte, NC)

Shelileah Newman, MD; Radiation Oncologist (Harrisburg, NC)

Diep Nguyen, MD; Pediatrician (Charlotte, NC)

Catherine Passaretti, MD; Infectious Diseases (Charlotte, NC)

Pulak Patel, MD; Family Medicine (Charlotte, NC)

Krista Parker, MD; Emergency Medicine (Charlotte, NC)

Ebony Parson, MD; OB/GYN (Charlotte, NC)

Boris Pasche, MD; Medical Oncology (Winston Salem, NC)

Sarah Pollock, MD; OB/GYN (Charlotte, NC)

Laura Pridemore, MD; Pediatrician (Charlotte, NC)

Ming Qi, MD; Emergency Medicine (Charlotte, NC)

Nosheen Qureshi, MD; Family Medicine (Charlotte, NC)

Scott Ring, MD; Emergency Medicine (Charlotte, NC)

Gabriela River-Camacho, MD; Emergency Medicine (Charlotte, NC)

Kathy Robinson, MD; Family Physician (Asheville, NC)

Stephanie Rose, MD; Emergency Medicine (Huntersville, NC)

Christine Secrest, MD; OB/GYN (Charlotte, NC)

Laura Seth, MD; Internal Medicine (Charlotte, NC)

David Shumway, MD; Emergency Medicine (Smithfield, NC)

Stephanie Simon, MD; Internal Medicine (Charlotte, NC)

Laura Sinai, MD; Pediatrician (Charlotte, NC)

Paige Sokolsky, MD; Emergency Medicine (Chapel Hill, NC)

Uma Tadepalli, MD; Geriatrician (Durham, NC)

Iman Tamimi, MD; Emergency Medicine (Charlotte, NC)

Frances Travelli, MD; Pediatric Cardiologist (Charlotte, NC)

Ramon Velez, MD; Internal Medicine (Pfafftown, NC)

Christina Vorobej, MD; Primary Care and Sports Medicine (Mooresville, NC)

Asif Wahid, MD; Cardiologist (Thomasville, NC)

Elizabeth Waller, MD; Ophthalmologist (Charlotte, NC)

Robert Whitmore, MD; Urologist (New Bern, NC)

Lisa Wilson, MD; OB/GYN (Charlotte, NC)

Sheela Wilson, MD; Emergency Medicine (Clover, NC)

James Wood, MD; Nephrologist (Charlotte, NC)

Louis Zbinden, MD; General Surgery (Charlotte, NC)