Birmingham Requires Face Masks in Public Starting Friday
By Sam Prickett
Birmingham residents will be legally required to wear face masks in public starting May 1. The Birmingham City Council passed that legislation, sponsored by Mayor Randall Woodfin, on Tuesday; it’s the latest in a series of orders designed to slow the spread of COVID-19.
The city had previously ordered a “shelter-in-place” ordinance which is in place through April 30; that order has not been extended. Gov. Kay Ivey announced Tuesday morning a statewide order that would reopen businesses, public beaches and retail stores under certain conditions, but keep restaurants, churches, bars, gyms, entertainment videos, senior citizen centers and schools closed through May 15.
Face masks are defined by the ordinance as “a device to cover the nose and mouth: to impede the spread of saliva or other fluids during speaking, coughing, sneezing or other intentional or involuntary action.” Medical-grade masks are not required by the ordinance; scarves, bandanas or other fabrics will suffice.
The ordinance provides several exceptions to the rule; it is not required for people engaging in individual outdoor exercise, children two years old and under, medical or dental patients, or people for whom “wearing a face covering or (mask) poses a greater mental or physical health, safety or security risk, such as anyone who has trouble breathing, or is unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove the cover without assistance.”
Centers For Disease Control: Learn To Make A Face Mask
Employers are not required to provide masks for their employees but are required to ensure that their employees, customers, clients and visitors are wearing face masks while at their place of business.
Woodfin said he was “encouraged” that roughly half the people he had seen in public places “are already voluntarily doing this.”
“We need to take this seriously, because we’re not out of the woods,” Woodfin said. “I think this is the right thing to do from a public safety, public health standpoint.”
The ordinance currently has no expiration date; it will be in effect “subject to modification for evolving information on preventing the spread of COVID-19 or other direction from federal, state or local officials.” Violators will be subject to a fine of up to $500 and/or up to 30 days in jail, though Woodfin said that the police department would initially be more focused on “educating folk” about the ordinance, as they had with earlier shelter-in-place orders.
Birmingham Face Covering Or… by Miranda Fulmore on Scribd
India and China to resume direct flights after a 5-year suspension
The suspension, which began with the 2020 Covid outbreak, was prolonged by tensions along the Himalayan border.
On ‘The Life of a Showgirl,’ Taylor Swift feels love’s glow and the spotlight’s glare
On her 12th album, the most dominant pop star of our era makes a spectacle of herself in full flower, in love and holding the music industry in the palm of her hand.
FDA approves another generic abortion pill, prompting outrage from conservatives
Drugmaker Evita Solutions announced on its website that the Food and Drug Administration signed off on its low-cost form of the pill, which is approved to end pregnancies through 10 weeks.
As the shutdown drags on, the threat of permanent cuts is mired in politics
President Trump is meeting with his budget director, Russ Vought, about what additional cuts to make during the shutdown, and the president says his targets are partisan.
Pope Leo’s religious community is drawing renewed interest. Here’s what makes it unique
"Before, we might get two or three discerners. But after Pope Leo, I now have 15. It's unbelievable."
The CDC still hasn’t issued COVID vaccine guidelines, leaving access in limbo
Access to the COVID-19 vaccines remains difficult because of an unusual and unexplained delay by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in accepting recommendations from its advisers.
