A Message from Mayor Stimpson - June 3
Jun 3rd, 2020
Good evening,
It is 9:45 p.m. on Wednesday, June 3, and I am writing to give you an update on the City of Mobile's efforts regarding COVID-19.
As of tonight, there have been 2,293 total confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Mobile County, out of 28,214 total tests. There are 118 deaths attributed to the virus. There have been no deaths in Mobile County since June 1, according to the Mobile County Health Department.
There were just 12 new patients with active COVID-19 as of this morning, the lowest number by far in the last two weeks.
While these trends are incredibly positive, it's important to remember that COVID-19 is still active in our community and we all must continue the recommended safety guidelines:
- Keep a safe difference of at least 6 feet from others
- Wash your hands regularly
- Wear a mask when shopping or when in public places.
Regretfully, the news on the economic front is not so positive. I spent time on a conference call today with Fitzgerald Washington, Secretary of the Alabama Department of Labor, and the mayors of Alabama's 10 largest cities. A few facts taken from our conversation:
- Alabama's April unemployment rate was 12.9%, up from March's level of 3.0%, and above April 2019's rate of 3.2%. April's rate represents 283,787 unemployed persons, an increase of 216,783 over the month.
- Over the past two months, the State of Alabama has paid out more than $1 billion in total unemployment benefits. That's more than in the last six years combined.
- More than 530,000 unemployment claims have been filed since March 14. That's more than the last 2 years combined. More than 90 percent of those claims have been paid, according to the Department of Labor.
- There were 28,173 who filed for unemployment in Mobile County in April, translating to an unemployment rate of 15.1%.
These are not the sort of numbers that anyone would like to see, and they demonstrate the devastating effect that the COVID-19 pandemic is having on our business community. This downtown has impacted every aspect of our economy, but working families have been hardest hit.
Simply put, a decade of positive growth in Alabama has been erased in the past two months. Now we are focused on a plan to safely return our working citizens to meaningful employment.
The City of Mobile has taken a number of actions in recent weeks to help Mobile families and businesses through these difficult times. We will continue those efforts. We hope these job losses are temporary in nature, and will rebound as more businesses return to work.
The challenge is that we must proceed with caution to avoid a resurgence of COVID-19. We've come too far and sacrificed too much to this virus to allow it to take any more from us.
Please remember the Mobile families who are struggling tonight to pay bills, buy medicine and keep their homes. From the City of Mobile to the State of Alabama to the U.S. government, we are working tirelessly to provide relief and speed the recovery process. We have a moral responsibility to help them through this challenging time.