A Message from Mayor Stimpson
Mar 26th, 2020
Good evening,
It is 9 p.m. on Thursday, March 26, and I am writing to give you an update on the City of Mobile’s efforts regarding COVID-19.
We face a very serious challenge in this pandemic, and we are continuing to devote our full focus and energy toward protecting you from this threat to our community.
The number of confirmed cases is continuing to grow, and the fact is that the worst may still be ahead of us. But our strength is growing, too. I am convinced that we are better prepared today than we were yesterday, and we will keep getting stronger every day going forward.
Why do I believe this? I’ve spent a significant amount of time over the past 48 hours talking to top doctors in Mobile and medical experts from some of the top hospitals in America.
We are united like never before in the fight to stop the spread of this virus. Our initial challenge was to secure test kits, which are in short supply across the country. Today we delivered 2,000 test kits to the Mobile Infirmary - and more are on the way.
We are working closely with the hospitals to establish drive-through test sites, listening closely to their needs and making all of the City’s resources available to them.
Today, I joined Dr. Michael Chang, Chief Medical Officer for USA Health, along with members of our teams to plan how to organize testing sites in Mobile. Testing is important because it will provide needed information about how pervasive the virus is in our community.
As it stands today, we are having to make difficult and far-reaching decisions using very limited data. As more tests are completed and more results are compiled, we will work closely with the hospitals to understand the trends and make the very best decisions we can to protect our community.
Yes, COVID-19 is a crisis. But we are making rapid progress in the fight to stop it.
A few more things we did today:
- Key members of my team and I participated in a Coronavirus video conference with 200 mayors from across America, hosted by the Bloomberg-Harvard City Leadership Initiative. We were able to interact directly with experts from Harvard University, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.
- I joined mayors from the 10 largest cities in Alabama on a conference call with Gov. Kay Ivey, along with leaders of the Alabama Legislature.
- We joined leaders from the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce at a news conference today to raise awareness for their efforts to help small businesses apply for SBA Disaster Loans. To learn more, visit the Chamber’s web site at www.mobilechamber.com
Tomorrow, I am planning to visit a local business that has developed a creative way to help support our healthcare workers. I will meet with our city department heads to make sure we are continuing to serve you. And, I’ll join with friends across the city to support Takeout Friday by picking up lunch at a local restaurant.
I’ll close with this. My friend Andy Andrews created a video that I thought was particularly good in these uncertain times. Take a minute and watch it by clicking here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbS_813YdHE
Thank you as always for your prayers and words of support. Working together, we will make it through this difficult time.
Sincerely,
Sandy Stimpson