Governor Kay Ivey’s new public health order goes into effect at 5:00 p.m. today (Thursday).
Under its authority, medical professionals who have been idle may get back to work and most retail businesses may open and operate at 50% capacity.
Local officials speak up. Two mayors in two days have asked Governor Kay Ivey to open more businesses. Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson asked Ivey to open barbershops, salons and restaurants after meeting with local business owners. Heflin Mayor Rudy Rooks wrote Ivey asking for the ability to open up restaurants, gyms and close contact personal service providers in his city. Heflin has only had one confirmed COVID-19 case and Cleburne County has gone 22 days without any new cases, according to Rooks. On this basis, he believes Heflin should gain a waiver from Ivey’s new public health order. Last week, Autauga and Elmore Counties petitioned Ivey for flexibility in applying her order.
Not surprisingly, people are not flying. Chris Curry, president of the Mobile Airport Authority, said on Wednesday that passenger boardings are down 90% at Mobile Regional Airport. He also indicated parking revenue is down 90%. There are, undoubtedly, other businesses connected to air travel suffering in the same manner. It is difficult to overstate the connectedness each business in Alabama has with another. This has been the challenge for Ivey and State Health Officer Scott Harris as they seek to reopen Alabama. As the New York Times daily newsletter stated last week, “The economy is a complex web of supply chains whose dynamics don’t necessarily align neatly with epidemiologists’ recommendations.”
Numbers improve 20 days in a row. Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth, who has been keeping close tabs on Alabama’s COVID-19 case numbers, cited 20 consecutive days of improvement by Wednesday night. “Great work Alabama!” he said in delivering the good news. The White House criteria for reopening, often referred to by Harris, requires a “downward trajectory of documented cases within a 14-day period.” Once met, the White House recommends opening restaurants, gyms, movie theaters and places of worship under strict social distancing guidelines.
Today marks 20 days of declining numbers. Great work Alabama! The 154 new cases we had today is 55% lower than the peak, which occurred on April 9th with 339 cases. pic.twitter.com/WpQ8g2IsUs
— Will Ainsworth (@willainsworthAL) April 30, 2020
Tim Howe is an owner of Yellowhammer Multimedia
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