7. Travel has increased across the state
- Everything has slowly been reopening, so it’s easy to assume that vehicle travel would increase across the state, especially after vehicle travel decreased by nearly 80% at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
- The Associated Press released data by StreetLight Data, Inc. that showed on a daily basis in January, people in Alabama were traveling about 357 million miles by vehicle, and then just before the shutdown, travel had jumped to 550 million miles on March 6. But by April 12, travel had dropped to 80 million miles; by May 12, the weekly average of travel was 278 million miles per day.
6. Redstone Arsenal reopening next week
- Garrison Commander Col. Kelsey Smith has announced that Huntsville’s Redstone Arsenal will be reopening on Tuesday next week. With more than 40,000 employees, the Arsenal is the largest employee hub in North Alabama.
- Organizations located on base will be able to make their own decisions about when they’re returning to base. The decision to reopen was based on a steady decline over the last five days in the counties that employees live in. Smith said this is the “first step toward recovery.”
5. We won’t shut down the country again
- President Donald Trump while touring the Ford Motor Co. plant in Detroit, Michigan, said there is potential for a second wave of the coronavirus, but he said that in the event of that happening, “we’re going to put out the fires,” adding, “We’re not going to close the economy.”
- During his statement, Trump added that he’s “fighting to bring back our jobs from China and many other countries” because the United States “needs to be a manufacturing nation.” Trump went on to say that the coronavirus started in “China and it should have been stopped in China.”
4. Montgomery’s ICU bed “shortage” isn’t what it seems
- The national and state media were shocked that the mayor of Alabama’s capital city announced that the city was having to send coronavirus patients to Birmingham for treatment, but State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris said the situation in Montgomery is manageable.
- Harris and Dr. Donald Williamson with the Alabama Hospital Association say this is nothing new, adding the hospitals have capacity and the movement of patients is completely normal. Harris advised, “They have the ability within their four walls to handle that and handle more if necessary.”
3. Americans are wearing masks
- In the last week, 80% of Americans have worn a mask. According to a recent study, 70% of Americans believe that wearing a mask is respectful. Birmingham has 100,000 masks in storage, yet we are still seeing a pretend culture war being fought over the act of wearing masks when it is just another fabricated fake news narrative.
- The latest pro-mask warrior comes from an unexpected place — the University of Alabama. Head football coach Nick Saban has filmed a pro-mask PSA where he scolds Big Al for not wearing a mask and says, “All of us want to make sure we play football this fall, and to make that happen, we must be sure we stay at home if we have symptoms, wash your hands often, follow social distancing guidelines and please wear a mask any time you’re around other people.”
2. People trust Biden with more
- Fox News has conducted a new poll between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden asking respondents which jobs they trust each with when it comes to the economy, coronavirus, dealing with China and healthcare.
- On the economy, 45% of respondents trust Trump and 42% trust Biden, whereas 46% of people trust Biden to handle the coronavirus and only 37% trust Trump. Surprisingly, 43% of people trust Biden with China and only 37% trust Trump. With healthcare, 50% trust Biden and 33% trust Trump.
1. Alabama is reopening even more
- Just in time for Memorial Day weekend, Governor Kay Ivey has announced that starting Friday at 5:00 p.m., an amended Safer-At-Home Order will go into effect and allow entertainment venues to reopen.
- Included in the venues reopening will be museums, movie theaters, bowling alleys and summer camps. Beginning on June 1, schools will be allowed to reopen, and by June 15, Ivey is planning to allow athletic competitions. Everything reopening will still be subject to rules of sanitation and social distancing.
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