A Message from Mayor Stimpson May 11, 2020
May 11th, 2020
Good evening,
It is 9 p.m. on Monday, May 11 and I am writing to give you an update on the City of Mobile's efforts regarding COVID-19.
As of tonight, there are 1,474 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Mobile County, out of 12,225 total tests. There are 90 deaths attributed to the virus.
Today was a big milestone for many of our citizens as "close contact" businesses such as restaurants, barber shops and beauty salons were allowed to reopen by the State of Alabama.
Gov. Ivey's amended "Safer at Home" order, which went into effect today, enabled these businesses to re-open their doors for the first time since March 19. I spent some time today talking with employees of downtown businesses as they were busy making preparations to safely re-open.
Many of them were re-arranging their dining rooms to ensure compliance with the guidelines for limited seating and creating a minimum of 6 feet between tables. Others were installing hand sanitizing stations or creating space for outdoor dining.
Compliance with the order is imperative as the virus is still actively spreading within our community. It's one thing for businesses to re-open, but it's another for customers to be confident that it is safe to go out for a meal or to get a haircut.
Our top priority is keeping you safe. We remain very concerned about the potential for the virus to harm our community. We will continue to watch the data closely, stay in constant contact with health experts and keep pushing for additional testing.
Some of you may feel that it is too soon to begin re-opening. We are listening to those concerns and weighing them with every decision we make. We must acknowledge the devastating financial toll that COVID-19 is having on our families.
Thousands of people have lost their jobs, and along with them their access to health insurance. Thousands of our citizens are hurting as they struggle to pay bills, buy food or medicine, and take care of their loved ones. It is imperative that we take action to protect lives as well as livelihoods, and that is why we are proceeding with caution.
We will continue to work with businesses to make certain they are following the recommended guidelines. In addition, we are working closely with our partner organizations such as Visit Mobile, the Mobile Downtown Alliance and the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce to share best practices for safe operations.
We have come too far and sacrificed too much to COVID-19 to allow it to make a resurgence. It is important that all of us take steps to protect our health in the days and weeks ahead. We must all use common sense and good judgement as we venture out in public, and as always we must continue to look out for one another as good neighbors during this challenging time.
Sincerely,
Mayor Sandy Stimpson