In a growing pandemic that threatens global health, the worry about the unknown, upended routines and economic concerns can significantly impact the mental health of Americans. There are ways to help manage the impact. Read more.
Large gatherings are banned due to coronavirus, so churches can't meet as usual. One Alabama church tried a drive-in service. 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.
Life under COVID-19 is a cognitive dissonance-inspiring trip on the merry-go-round Scenes flashing by run the gamut from grocery stores that are swamped with people to isolated city streets where a lone person or two are walking. “There are two parallel but different worlds happening,” a Facebook commenter said. “You have a lot of folks staying home and then there is another group still going to work and living life not that much differently.” Read more.
As the state grapples with education, government and industry closures in response to the coronavirus, the digital divide across the state is probably the most apparent it’s ever been. Much of rural Alabama doesn't have the infrastructure to take broadband Internet into homes. “You have one-fifth of the state population that doesn’t have access,” Sen. Clay Scofield, R-Guntersville, said. The chasm is perhaps most evident in schools, where administrators are faced with decisions when some of the students can partake in online learning and some cannot. Read more.
Dozens of events have been canceled or postponed in cities and towns across Alabama because of the coronavirus.
Facing canceled events, closed venues, mounting revenue losses and growing layoffs, Alabama’s tourism and travel industry is digging in for what could become an extended battle with the coronavirus pandemic. As in every segment of global society, the state’s hospitality industry is struggling with the uncertainties of how severely and how long the crisis will affect everyday life. The stakes are obvious in a state that depends on the travel and tourism for 7.3 percent of its gross domestic product. The industry brought $15.5 billion to Alabama in 2018 and created an estimated 198,891 direct jobs, according to the Alabama Tourism Department’s latest annual report. Taxes paid by tourists saved each Alabama family $507. 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.
