A Message from Mayor Stimpson - May 27th
May 27th, 2020
Good evening,
It is 9 p.m. on Wednesday, May 27, and I am writing to give you an update on the City of Mobile's efforts regarding COVID-19.
As of tonight, there are 2,085 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Mobile County, out of 20,132 total tested. There are 112 deaths attributed to the virus.
We continue to devote significant time and energy to the fight against Coronavirus. Our focus is on protecting you from this threat to our well-being, while balancing that with the effort to restore our economy. The good news is that we are making good progress on both fronts.
State and federal governments are continuing to relax many of the restrictions that were imposed to "flatten the curve" and reduce the stress on our health care system. While data shows we are past the peak, the virus is still active in our community and so each of us has a responsibility to take care of our health.
It is concerning to see images of large numbers of people gathered in restaurants, on beaches or in other public spaces. Science tells us that the virus is still highly contagious and can cause serious illness, particularly for those above the age of 65 or those with underlying health conditions.
Please do your part to stop the spread of COVID-19 by keeping your hands clean, wearing a mask in public settings and keeping a safe distance of 6 feet from others when outside of your household. Doing these things will save lives and will help us to recover from this crisis more quickly.
Today I spent time talking with Dr. Bert Eichold and Dr. Laura Cepeda of the Mobile County Health Department to continue coordinating our efforts to fight COVID-19. I also spoke with CEOs from several of Mobile's top employers to see what my Administration can do to help them get back to full employment.
I also talked with Alabama Labor Secretary Fitzgerald Washington to get an update on the job market in Mobile. The unemployment rate for Mobile reached 15 percent in April, a huge increase from 3.8 percent in March. Statewide, more than 500,000 people filed for unemployment during the past two months, and more than $1 billion has been paid out in unemployment compensation,
These numbers are simply staggering, and they represent a lot of hurt, stress and fear for a lot of families across our state. I believe our foremost responsibility is keeping you safe, but we also have a moral responsibility to help these folks get back on their feet.
We will keep working non-stop on both of these challenges, and we are committed to keeping you informed about all we are doing to help our community recover. On that note, I want to be sure that we are giving you the right information in the easiest possible format. To help us serve you better, please click the link below to see a brief survey about our newsletter.
I would be most appreciative if you would take the opportunity to give us some feedback. Click here to take our quick survey.
I continue to be grateful for all of your kind words, which mean more to me than I can express.