figures with us on the program not author of sociology professor frank freddy political activist linda bell us who is a former chair of the institute of a quality and diversity in the u.k. welcome to you both linda can we kick off with you how much of a difference does removing statues really make in the battle against racism. well it's about symbolism. i don't know the make of the men but they're all getting us talking about us that's a good thing he's joined the yes i. know. it in the past. oh well breaking the law or not it once or twice for symbolic reasons but we're having a discussion in britain in europe about europe's past that's a good thing. frank one of the points of the protesters have been making is that these statues represent moments in british history that perhaps many were not aware of and would have been repulsed by if they knew this this this mean that many monuments i thought there on british streets right now frank have become obsolete. i don't think so i think it is a danger because. i'm not against people 'd reacting to symbols even that demanding that should be any c

linda bell. dr. bell: good afternoon. 520 eight newnce cases of covid-19 and seven additional deaths. this brings the total number of cases in south carolina to 15,759. the total number of deaths to 575. amave to say that today, i more concerned about covid-19 in south carolina than i have ever been before. for the past two weeks, we have seen some of our highest daily numbers since the pandemic began and there have been recent cases positive. is why we need everyone's help in deemphasizing how critical it is for every one of us, every day to wear a mask in public and to stay physically distanced from one another. those precautions, masks and social distancing are how we stop the virus. yesterday a statement was issued , reiterating how vital the important it is for all people in south carolina to adhere to these measures. we are eager to return to our normal not -- normal lives, but it will take us that much longer to get there, if we do not stop the virus today. it does not take hard data to observ

linda bell, said this week she's more concerned about covid-19 than she ever has been before. but your governor is continuing to open up things like bowling alleys, lifting other restrictions on retail establishments. should that be reversed? >> absolutely. and that's been our position from the very beginning. truly thoughtful policy, dr. bell is 100% right. we tested probably 5% of the people in south carolina, 5.1 million people in the state, over 270 tested and we're watching a precipitous increase in the number of cases. we should focus on testing, gives us good data, data gives us intelligence, intell jeigenc allows us to make good decisions. we never had the consistent leadership since the world health organization declared the coronavirus covid-19 a pandemic back in march. and we're paying the price for it right now. we're doing as much as we can at the local level. we got our businesses stepped up -- 210 businesses stepped up and made a commitment to be resilient businesses, doing all they should do to keep their customers and employees safe. we have invested heavily i