Birmingham Mayor Undecided On When To Reopen City Economy
The city of Birmingham is working closely with Alabama health officials to determine when the city’s economy will reopen. At a press conference Tuesday, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin offered updates on the city’s fight against the coronavirus. Woodfin said it’s important for residents to continue following the stay-at-home order as local and state officials take the next steps to address the economic crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Woodfin was joined by Wesley Willeford, medical director of disease control with the Jefferson County Department of Health. Willeford said the number of new coronavirus cases is decreasing each day. He said that’s due to social distancing efforts and the work of the community, as residents limit interaction with each other.
“The best tool at our disposal is to starve the virus of an opportunity to cause infection,” Willeford says.
Woodfin touted the efforts of health care workers battling the coronavirus on the front lines. He also thanked grocery store employees, police officers, fire and rescue teams and public works employees.
The mayor also mentioned a dark side during the crisis. Woodfin said since the shelter-in-place ordinance took effect, the YWCA has seen a 50 percent increase in domestic violence calls.
“The shelter-in-place order does not mean you stay in your home and endure domestic abuse,” Woodfin said.
He urged anyone dealing with domestic violence to contact the YWCA at 205-322-HURT.
Woodfin said he will meet with state and local health officials this week to determine whether the city’s “shelter-in-place” order will be extended. The current order expires on April 30, the same day Alabama’s stay-at-home order is set to end.
Birmingham is 3rd worst in the Southeast for ozone pollution, new report says
The American Lung Association's "State of the Air" report shows some metro areas in the Gulf States continue to have poor air quality.
Why haven’t Kansas and Alabama — among other holdouts — expanded access to Medicaid?
Only 10 states have not joined the federal program that expands Medicaid to people who are still in the "coverage gap" for health care
Once praised, settlement to help sickened BP oil spill workers leaves most with nearly nothing
Thousands of ordinary people who helped clean up after the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico say they got sick. A court settlement was supposed to help compensate them, but it hasn’t turned out as expected.
Q&A: How harm reduction can help mitigate the opioid crisis
Maia Szalavitz discusses harm reduction's effectiveness against drug addiction, how punitive policies can hurt people who need pain medication and more.
The Gulf States Newsroom is hiring a Community Engagement Producer
The Gulf States Newsroom is seeking a curious, creative and collaborative professional to work with our regional team to build up engaged journalism efforts.
Gambling bills face uncertain future in the Alabama legislature
This year looked to be different for lottery and gambling legislation, which has fallen short for years in the Alabama legislature. But this week, with only a handful of meeting days left, competing House and Senate proposals were sent to a conference committee to work out differences.
