A Message from Mayor Stimpson - May 28th
May 28th, 2020
Good evening,
It is 9 p.m. on Thursday, May 28, and I am writing to give you an update on the City of Mobile's efforts regarding COVID-19.
As of tonight, there are 2,118 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Mobile County, out of 20,294 total tested. There are 112 deaths attributed to the virus.
I want to thank all of you who took the time to respond to the survey we included in last night's newsletter. Since you shared your thoughts with us, we will share the results with you.
As of this morning, we received 967 responses to the survey. More than half of respondents, about 54%, said they would like to continue receiving newsletter updates every day. 27 percent said they would prefer twice a week, and 17 percent said once a week.
We are listening this feedback as we make decisions about how to communicate with you. Our goal is to provide the information you need in a way that makes it easy for you to receive it. On that note, 77 percent they would like a combination of public health data, economic data and information about initiatives from the city and the mayor's office.
We also asked about issues of concern to you. Nearly 85 percent of respondents said they were either very concerned (49.4 percent) or somewhat concerned (35.5 percent) about infection from Coronavirus. 11.3 percent said they were not very concerned while just 3.8 percent said they were not at all worried.
When it came to the economy, 97.5 percent said they were either very concerned (68.1 percent) or somewhat concerned (29.4 percent). Only 2.2 percent said they were not very concerned with just 0.3 percent saying they were not at all concerned.
This feedback tells us that we must continue to focus on fighting COVID-19 both as a threat to public health and a threat to financial health. That's exactly what we've done these past few weeks and we will redouble our efforts on both fronts.
Lastly, 84 percent said they approve of Mobile's response to the Coronavirus crisis, with 16 percent saying they did not approve.
For those of you who haven't already responded, you may still participate in the survey by clicking here.
Certainly we have learned some tremendous lessons as we've worked through this crisis. I can say we are smarter, stronger and better equipped today than we've been at any point since this pandemic started. We remain committed to doing all in our power to help our community recover from this crisis.
Today we spent time working on plans to begin safely returning city employees to their offices at Government Plaza. I am incredibly proud of the way our employees have adjusted to this challenge and how we have been able to continue nearly all of our city services without missing a beat.
We are also working on plans to reopen city facilities such as our athletic fields, ball parks and playgrounds. We are taking a cautious approach because we know that group settings like these can cause outbreaks if not managed carefully.
Today I also had the opportunity to tour a newly-constructed assisted living facility for senior women with dementia. We have all seen the headlines about outbreaks of COVID-19 in nursing homes and senior centers, so I was encouraged to see the state-of-the-art safety initiatives that the owners of Carillon Oaks have incorporated into their design.
It's so important that our elderly citizens, and others in need of long-term care, have safe places to live. We will continue to work with our local nursing homes, public housing and other group homes to improve safety in their residential facilities.
Tomorrow will bring another full day of meetings, phone calls and decisions as we continue to push toward recovery. I look forward to updating you again tomorrow night. Until then, I wish you a peaceful night's sleep. Please remember the police officers, firemen, doctors and nurses who will be working through the night to keep us safe.
My prayer is that God will continue to work through us and strengthen our hands against this virus. His love will carry us through every difficulty, every trial and every dark hour we may face. For that we give thanks.