Schoolhouse doors will be closed in Alabama through the end of the term to avoid the spread of the coronavirus. Gov. Kay Ivey and state school Superintendent Eric Mackey began a press conference to announce the decision at 4 p.m. Going forward, schools are directed to use alternative methods of instruction. A full story will be published after the press conference.
The Senate late Thursday night voted 96-0 to pass at $2 trillion coronavirus relief bill. Both of Alabama’s senators voted for the bill. Members of the House of Representatives have been called back to Washington to take up the bill Friday morning. Alabama Sen. Doug Jones, a Democrat, said the bill wasn’t perfect, but it did include a lot of good things for the state. Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby, a Republican, said the bill would help state and local governments that are in desperate need while grappling with the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more.
The scene on the usually congested 22nd Street South near the UAB area was much different than usual Wednesday. (Source: Tom Gordon)
You don’t have to get infected by the coronavirus to see it have a painful impact on your life, as many workers – or former workers – have discovered. Christine Prichard, a freelance photographer based in Birmingham, has seen the impact of COVID 19 in a couple of ways. First, her teenage son is in the Dominican Republic and she’s eager to get him back home, even though that would mean two weeks of quarantine with him. But like many others, Prichard is seeing her business affected by the pandemic, as well. She frequently shoots photos of corporate events, and late last month, at an annual celebratory event for a trade group, she saw an early sign that the pandemic was going to have an economic downside for her work. “It was their annual meeting to kind of celebrate their sales. And at that meeting every year they would announce where they would book their annual trip for the top sales people of this product. And there was a guy that had to announce that they were not going to book the trip, pending what’s going on with coronavirus,” she recalled. “He said, ‘It's just too iffy. We don’t want to lose deposits. We’re being super-careful.’” That, Prichard said, was “kind of the first little wind I got that, ‘Oh. This could really be an issue.’” Since then, she said, “I haven’t done an event in a couple of weeks.” From gig workers, to teachers to even health care workers and others, many are finding that the pandemic has reached into their pockets. The pandemic has economic forecasters talking about recession in the wake of massive jobs losses. The headlines are about plants closing, unemployment claims rising, the government working on details of stimulus relief to American workers – and failing to come to terms. An NPR/PBS Newshour/Marist poll said that by last Wednesday, “nearly 20% of U.S. households have experienced either a layoff or a reduction in work hours because of the coronavirus.” Unemployment filings are rising significantly. Preliminary Alabama Department of Labor numbers show that more than 17,000 people filed for unemployment on Sunday and Monday, the Associated Press reported. In the week that ended March 13, that number was 1,434. Read more.
The Birmingham City Council on Wednesday approved spending $1 million from its General Fund on a small business loan program designed to help small businesses struggling with the impact of COVID-19. The money is in addition to $200,000 put in the program fund Tuesday from the city’s innovation and economic opportunity fund. Read more.
State education leaders are trying to figure out how to teach students in an era of coronavirus. Read more.
MONTGOMERY — Gov. Kay Ivey said on Tuesday that she has no plans as of now to issue a shelter-in-place order for the state to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. Read more.
The state’s four veterans homes so far have no confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to Assistant Veterans Affairs Commissioner Bob Horton. Read more.
Former Birmingham Mayor William Bell and his wife, Sharon, were strolling in Railroad Park on Tuesday afternoon, taking a change of pace from being self-quarantined indoors because of the COVID-19 threat. Bell said getting out is good, but people should observe social distances when they are out and about. Read more.
A “shelter in place” ordinance is now in effect in Birmingham. The order, passed by the City Council Tuesday evening, is intended to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by effectively instituting a curfew on all residents — with numerous exceptions. Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said the ordinance was intended to address those who were not in compliance with the city’s previous recommendations. “A lot of people are treating this as a vacation,” he said. “This is not a vacation. … We need to now pivot from recommendation to full enforcement if the ultimate goal is to save lives.” There are numerous exceptions outlined in the ordinance — notably for people seeking “essential services or commodities;” public safety officials and first responders; utility, cable, and telecommunications companies; federal, state, county or city government employees; and the homeless. Read more. Ivey Says No Shelter-in-Place Order Needed for State Right Now; Health Officials Search for Extra Medical Resources
