Northwest School Of The Arts Northwest School Of The Arts

Here’s what life looks like in North Carolina’s largest city in the midst of a pandemic.

Charlotte is home to more than 800,000 people—and somehow all of them have had to figure out how to cope with the coronavirus outbreak. Although health officials in Mecklenburg County say they have no plans at the moment to restrict residents from leaving their homes, there are currently 43 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the area.

This week, we asked local photographer Grant Baldwin to document what life looks like in North Carolina’s largest city to get a sense of how folks there are handling the pandemic. Here’s what he found.

No Traffic
Tuesday’s rush hour was nearly nonexistent, as seen in this view along Elizabeth Avenue looking toward Central Piedmont Community College near uptown shortly before 6 p.m.
Gemini Boyd, Founder of Project Bolt and member of The Bail Project
Gemini Boyd, founder of Project Bolt and member of The Bail Project, speaks at a press conference in front of the Mecklenburg County Jail to bring awareness to the vulnerability of the prison population during the COVID-19 pandemic. He called for the release of prisoners who meet certain low recidivism risk criteria.
Tryon Medical Partners
Tryon Medical Partners opened Charlotte’s first drive-up coronavirus testing site in south Charlotte this week for patients who test negative for the flu but are symptomatic.
Freedom Park
Students Drew Dansby (left) and Andrew Deweese playing music in Freedom Park.
Oaklawn Langauge Academy
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools staff at Oaklawn Language Academy in northwest Charlotte provide food for students at home via one of dozens of CMS drive-up locations.
NoDa
Residents in NoDa left items in a tree for people experiencing homelessness.
ABC Stores
ABC stores saw long lines Thursday afternoon.
Northwest School Of The Arts
A sign outside of Northwest School of the Arts
Hyatt Gun Shop
Like many gun shops, Hyatt Gun Shop on Wilkinson Boulevard saw a large increase in gun and ammo sales in recent weeks.
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles reacts to the announcement of LendingTree’s creation of a $1 million fund to help Charlotteans deal with the COVID-19 outbreak.
Greater Charlotte Rise
Jasmine Sherman of Greater Charlotte Rise makes their first assistance delivery to an individual in south Charlotte exposed to COVID-19 and presumed positive .
Neighborhood Theatre
The marquee at Neighborhood Theatre in NoDa
Kimberly Lawson

Kimberly Lawson Kimberly Lawson is editor of COURIER. She is a former alt weekly newspaper editor and freelance writer based in the South, and her writing has been featured in the New York Times, VICE, Rewire.News, The Week and more.

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