The Birmingham City Council has approved the first part of funding for a small business loan program designed to help small businesses struggling with the impact of COVID-19. The program, which was approved in concept last week, would provide eligible small businesses with up to $25,000 in interest-free, 180-day loans. Read more.
UPDATED — Alabama lawmakers are expected to be back in Montgomery March 31, but how long they’ll be able to work and what they’ll be able to do in the middle of a public health emergency is in question. “I can’t say in the present situation we can pass budgets,” Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston, told Alabama Daily News on Monday. “The big question is, how long will this last? It’s one thing for a couple of weeks; It’s another if it lasts for months.” As local and state governments try to stop the spread of the coronavirus and businesses slow or shutter temporarily, the impact on state revenue is expected to be significant. How bad that will be will depend on how long people are asked to stay home, state leaders said this week. Read more.
The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Alabama reached 215 today, with Jefferson and Shelby counties accouting for more than half. The Alabama Department of Public Health's morning update today showed cases of COVID-19 confirmed in 25 of the state's 67 counties , with 90 cases in Jefferson County and 24 in Shelby County. Read more.
The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Alabama rose today to 167, with Jefferson County accounting for 79 of those. The Alabama Department of Public Health's morning update showed Shelby, Lee and Madison counties at 17 cases each. Read more.
UPDATED — Calling it a matter of life and death, the chief medical officer of Jefferson County called for the closure of most retail stores beginning at 5 p.m. today. Those include furniture and home furnishing stores; clothing and shoe stores; jewelry; luggage and leather goods stores; department stores; sporting goods; hobby book and music stores; and florists. Read more.
Voterama KEY VOTES AHEAD Congress will take up its third coronavirus relief package in the week of March 23, a measure that could promptly send at least $500 billion in direct payments to individuals and households and provide bailouts to industries including the airlines. WASHINGTON — The Senate on Wednesday, March 18, passed a $100 billion safety-net and economic stimulus package to help families, individuals and small and medium-size businesses cope with the first wave of the coronavirus outbreak, and the president signed it the same day. The Senate vote was near to a sweep with 90 for and eight against. Both Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby, a Republican, and Sen. Doug Jones, a Democrat, voted for the measure. Read more.
UPDATED — Stepping up its response to one of its employees’ testing positive for the COVID-19 virus, the Alabama Department of Corrections said Friday its prisons will not take in any “new inmates from county jails for the next 30 days.” Others subject to the moratorium include those who have violated terms of their parole or probation and those ordered back to prison by a court. In a news release, the department said it would “continue to receive inmates with severe medical or mental health conditions, subject to the usual review process by the Department’s Office of Health Services.” It said it would screen those inmates to ensure they have no symptoms of the COVID-19 virus. Read more.
Gov. Kay Ivey on Friday gave authorization for up to 100 National Guardsmen to be activated if needed in the battle against COVID-19. “While there is no immediate need for us to deploy our Guard, I have given authorization to Adjutant General Sheryl Gordon to be on standby, should our first responders and health care providers need additional support,” Ivey said in the statement. Read more.
The first confirmed case of COVID-19 has surfaced in the Department of Corrections, the department stated in a news release. The department said the person who tested positive was an administrative employee, not an inmate. Citing privacy and security reasons, the department did not disclose the individual’s name or workplace. “We will closely monitor inmate health at all facilities,” the department stated. “All individuals within the Department who have been in direct contact with the individual who tested positive are now in self-quarantine for a 14-day period." Read more.
The Alabama Department of Public Health on Thursday prohibited any gatherings involving 25 or more people, closed state beaches and child care facilities, prohibited on-site dining in restaurants and canceled non-emergency medical procedures. Gov. Kay Ivey said the order, effective through April 5, is the best way to contain the spread of the coronavirus and to stop a possible surge on Alabama hospitals and medical resources. “Despite our best efforts, the threat of the COVID-19 virus continues to spread and, unfortunately, we have not yet reached peak impact," Ivey said in a statement. “While I am pleased that many of our citizens are self-regulating and are practicing social distancing, we want to ensure that Alabama is doing our part to flatten the curve." Late Thursday, Ivey said her office and the Department of Public Health would offer further clarity on the 25-person rule for public gatherings and how it would be applied in business environments. As of Thursday afternoon, 78 cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed statewide, up 28 cases from a day earlier. Jefferson County had the most cases at 34, followed by Lee County at 10, Shelby County at 9, Madison and Elmore Counties at 5, Tuscaloosa County at 4 and Montgomery County at 3. Baldwin, Calhoun, Chambers, Limestone, Mobile, Talladega and Walker Counties reported 1 case each. So far, in the U.S., 10,442 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed and 150 deaths are attributed to the disease, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Read more.
