A Message from Mayor Stimpson - June 22
Jun 22nd, 2020
Good evening,
It is 9 p.m. on Monday, June 22 and I am writing to give you an update on the City of Mobile's efforts regarding COVID-19.
Mondays are a big day for COVID data because that is when the Mobile County Health Department updates many of its weekly statistics. So, as promised on Friday, we will share some of those results here with you.
As of tonight, there have been 3,036 total confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Mobile County, out of 41,197 total tests. For the week ending Friday, 10.7 percent of people tested for COVID-19 were found to be positive. That's an encouraging trend because it is a significant reduction from our high of 22.6 percent on April 5.
There were 18 new patients with active COVID-19 as of today. That was very good news after we saw a spike in new cases at the end of last week. On Thursday, we had a two-week high of 66 new cases, followed by 35 on Friday and 61 on Saturday.
These numbers are clear evidence that COVID-19 is still actively spreading within in our community, so it is imperative that all of us take steps to protect ourselves from infection.
The virus is preventable if we will all just follow the safety guidelines as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control:
- Keep a safe distance of at least 6 feet from others
- Wash your hands regularly
- Wear a mask when shopping or when in public places
- Clean any surfaces around you
Another positive trend is that the number of deaths has sharply decreased since peaking in late April and early May. A total of 133 people have died as a result of the virus, or about 4.4 percent of those who test positive.
About 60 percent of those who test positive are presumed recovered by the Mobile County Health Department. On any given day we have about 55 patients in the hospital with COVID-19.
To read more about these statistics in complete detail, click here to read a COVID-19 report published by the Mobile County Health Department.
Today I traveled to Prattville for a meeting of the mayors of Alabama's 10 largest cities. While we speak regularly by phone, this was the first time since early this year that we've been able to meet together in person.
It was good as always to share ideas and best practices among our cities. With so much going on across the state - from COVID, to protests, to budget issues - we had plenty to discuss.
On this occasion we included our police chiefs and finance directors, enabling them to network and work through common issues facing the cities. We received a briefing on law enforcement activity from representatives of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. We also had the opportunity to hear from Gov. Kay Ivey as well as key members of her cabinet.
I always come away from these gatherings with a notebook full of new ideas and lessons learned that can help us with the challenges we face in Mobile.
I wish I could tell you that we have all the answers and a plan to solve every problem we face. The reality is every day brings a new set of challenges - as well as a new set of opportunities to improve our cities.
We continue to listen, learn and work hard each day to keep you safe and build a brighter future for our children. I'm grateful for the relationships we've built which are helping us in times of crisis. And, I'm grateful to serve as your mayor.
When we are united and our faith is strong, we can overcome any challenge.