--- title: "Oops: Organizer of Anti-Quarantine Protests Catches Coronavirus" description: "An administrator for an anti-quarantine Facebook group in North Carolina, local native Audrey Whitlock, confirmed she tested positive for COVID-19." date: "2020-04-28" modified: "2020-04-28" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/organizer-anti-quarantine-protests-catches-coronavirus" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Medical" - "Pathogens" - "Viruses" tags: - "cornavirus" - "covid19" - "protest" --- # Oops: Organizer of Anti-Quarantine Protests Catches Coronavirus ![An administrator for an anti-quarantine Facebook group in North Carolina, local native Audrey Whitlock, confirmed she tested positive for COVID-19.]() *\Image: Image via Pxhere\* An administrator for an anti-quarantine Facebook group in North Carolina, a local woman named Audrey Whitlock, confirmed that she tested positive for COVID-19, local news station [*ABC11* reports](). Whitlock, fortunately, says that she self-quarantined for the recommended 14 days after the positive test results. The news comes after North Carolina governor Roy Cooper extended stay-at-home orders in the state until at least May 8. Stay-at-home orders have been implemented to slow down the spread of the virus and ensure that hospitals don't get overwhelmed. While the US has arguably managed to "flatten the curve," keeping the virus from coming back will [prove to be far more difficult](), according to experts. The Facebook group "Reopen NC," where Whitlock was an administrator, organized a protest outside the North Carolina General Assembly last Tuesday, drawing about 300 people, many of which followed social distancing guidelines, according to *ABC11*. At the time of writing, the group has just over 70,000 members. An April 14 protest by the same group ended up in at least one arrest after some protesters refused to leave a parking lot, as [*Newsweek* reports](). Whitlock did not comment on whether she attended the event. A different administrator told *ABC11* that she wasn't there. Local governing bodies were not impressed. North Carolina Democratic Party communications director Austin Cook released a statement that read: "The fringe ReOpen NC group continues to demonstrate a jaw dropping lack of social responsibility and a complete disregard for our first responders and health workers on the front lines of this crisis." ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()