A Message from Mayor Stimpson - March 30
Mar 30th, 2020
Good evening,
It is 9 p.m. on Monday, March 30, and I am writing to give you an update on the City of Mobile’s efforts regarding COVID-19.
As of tonight, there are 43 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Mobile County, and one death attributed to the virus. We know that number will rise in the days ahead, and we are ramping up our efforts to stop the spread of this disease.
A few of the major steps we have taken thus far:
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With the City Council’s approval, we declared a public health emergency in the City of Mobile, enabling us to make emergency purchases, prohibit price gouging and implement a curfew, if necessary
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We canceled all public events, closed our community centers, senior centers and recreation facilities, removed basketball rims from our parks, restricted access to playground equipment and prohibited groups of more than 10 from gathering in public spaces
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We implemented a telework policy for city employees, suspended non-essential travel and shifted as many basic services as possible online, to protect our employees and the citizens we serve.
Those steps are in addition to the City’s coordination with county, state and federal officials to implement new protective guidelines. Those include closing inside service at local bars and restaurants, closing non-essential businesses and closing public schools for the remainder of the school year.
We are continuing to take action to keep you safe. Social distancing is a major key to stopping the spread of coronavirus, particularly for our most vulnerable citizens. We are looking at more stringent policies to stop people from gathering close to one another in retail stores, offices and neighborhoods.
We urge all of our citizens to follow these guidelines and avoid congregating in groups. We are asking the Mobile Police Department to break up these groups wherever possible, and we are working with local businesses on a plan to limit the number of customers inside their facilities.
These steps are difficult but will be necessary if citizens refuse to follow the rules.
A few more items of note:
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We’ve made huge strides in making COVID-19 testing available to those who need it. Early this morning, Infirmary Health opened its first drive-through testing site at its Diagnostic Clinic on Hillcrest Road, in addition to its existing test site on Springhill Ave. To schedule an appointment, call 251-435-1106
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We are on track to open a second drive-through testing site at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on Wednesday, in collaboration with USA Health. Testing is a critical step in the fight to contain the spread of COVID-19, and the data we collect from test results will help to inform our decisions going forward.
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We are staying in close contact with our four local hospitals to make sure they are prepared and have all the resources they need. As of today, our hospitals collectively are at less than 50 percent capacity, meaning they have a significant number of available beds and ventilators, should they become necessary.
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These are frightening and challenging times for so many of our families. Please remember that help is just a phone call away. Today, Chandra Brown from Lifelines Counseling joined us at a news conference to remind people to call 211 for health and human services.
I want to close on a positive note. Sunday night, my wife Jean and I joined hundreds of Mobilians in a show of support for our health care workers and the patients they serve.
“Light It Up Mobile” was an organized demonstration at each of our four hospitals, where people drove to the parking lots, turned on their flashing lights and sat safely in their cars listening to praise music and prayer on 92.5 FM.
We prayed for the hospital workers and health care providers as well as the sick, as they watched from the hospital windows. The experience was amazing, and the event was such a success that we are planning another demonstration this Sunday. Look for more details later this week.
My hat is off to our citizens for showing their appreciation and to the organizers for working so hard to make this happen. When we are united and our faith is strong, we can overcome any challenge.
Sincerely,
Sandy Stimpson