They weren't in the same place or even speaking at the same time on Thursday, but Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Forest were slamming each other over how North Carolina has handled the coronavirus pandemic.

Pandemic response was only part of the hour-long virtual candidate forum hosted by the North Carolina Retired Governmental Employees Association, but it sparked the most heated statements by both men.

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Cooper quickly ordered many businesses statewide closed and halted many public activities in March to limit the spread of the virus and has slowly reopened sectors of the economy and allowed social activities to resume over the succeeding six months as the spread of the virus in North Carolina stabilized.

On Wednesday, he announced that bars, movie theaters and some other entertainment businesses could reopen as early as Friday evening, under various restrictions. Schools districts statewide can choose to start reopening elementary schools for in-person classes next Monday.

Forest has been critical of the response from early on, saying it has been too slow compared with other states and needlessly harmed small businesses that were shuttered for months and young students who have had to take classes online.

He labeled Cooper's shutdown orders as "very draconian measures" and said it marked the "first time that we've ever locked healthy people in."

"You have to learn to live with these viruses," he said. "We don't need government to hold our hands and babysit us. We can take care of ourselves."

At the same time, Forest also faulted the Cooper administration for not doing enough to protect nursing home residents. Nursing homes statewide have had numerous coronavirus outbreaks, and the state lacked a comprehensive plan to test residents and staff for the virus until the summer.

Cooper responded by ridiculing Forest's claim that wearing a mask doesn't help limit the spread of the virus and criticizing the lieutenant governor for holding large campaign events with no social distancing and no masks.

"I'll continue to make the tough decisions based on science and data, putting public health and safety first," he said. "[Forest] is spreading misinformation ... and is leading North Carolinians into harm's way."

He accused Forest of "using our children as a political pawn" by pushing for an immediate return to in-person instruction. Rushing to reopen schools and some business sectors could harm the economic recovery more than help it, he said, noting that people first have to be confident that they won't get sick by returning to class or going out.

"My opponent wants to eliminate the [statewide] mask requirement. He wants to fill up our schools, no matter what, and that not only is going to make people sicker and it will cost lives, but it also will wreck our economy," Cooper said. "We want to go through this pandemic and get to the other side as safely as possible. Recklessly allowing people to get sick is really a recipe for handicapping our economy."

The two candidates also answers questions on health care, the state pension fund, broadband access, state employee pay and the racial unrest in North Carolina and nationwide in recent months.

Forest said communities need to come together and try to address people's grievances over policing and other issues, but "we can't have dialogue with people rioting and destroying cities."

He called the decision by Cooper's administration and area police chiefs not to stop people from damaging property and looting businesses "egregious" and said he would call in the National Guard during any riots if he were governor.

Citing a downtown Raleigh restaurant that has had its windows boarded up for weeks to avoid any future damage, he said, "Our businesses should not have to worry about when the next riot is coming."

Cooper noted that he has appointed two state task forces to address issues of racial equity, and the state needs to work toward solutions "instead of stoking violence and fear."

"Violence and destruction have no place at these gatherings and cannot be tolerated," he said, adding that people should be held accountable for damage caused.

"We've got to have leaders who understand that there are underlying problems here dealing with racism, dealing with equity, that we have to tackle," he said, "instead of candidates who want to take advantage of this situation to stoke fear and to stoke hatred. That's wrong. What I want to do is lead our state toward solutions."

Cooper and Forest are scheduled to debate face to face on Oct. 14.