July 15, 2020 (Part A) - Gov. Ivey's Mask Order
Gov. Ivey's Mask Order
July 15, 2020 - Part A
After breaking the State’s death record yesterday (40), we broke it again today. We lost 47 more souls who called Alabama home. Our 7-day average of deaths now stands at 21.57, a 17% increase over yesterday and another new record. ADPH reported 1,812 more infections (incl. probables), the third highest daily infections since the pandemic began (note - this number reflects the daily change in cumulative cases from midnight to 11:59 pm and differs from ADPH’s official number of 2,140). The 7-day average positivity rate exceeded 16% for the third consecutive day and trails only Arizona, Florida, SC and Texas.
Dr. Scott Harris of ADPH stated at a press briefing that there are 1,477 inpatients in Alabama hospitals (yet another record), an increase of 124 over yesterday’s total. In addition, he said that 541 more potential COVID-19 hospitalizations are “under investigation”. Thirty of Alabama’s 92 acute care hospitals have no ICU capacity at all and only 12% of the statewide ICU capacity is now available.
With infections and deaths spiraling out of control, it is not surprising that Gov. Ivey announced additional measures for handling the crisis, issuing an Amended Safer at Home Order. Although purporting to be a mandatory statewide mask order, this “Amended Order” contains numerous exceptions and Gov. Ivey made clear in her press briefing that it is not expected to be enforced by local law enforcement. Broad categories of exceptions from the requirement of mask-wearing include matters of “practical necessity”, “effective communication”, “constitutionally protected activity”, “essential job functions” and “exercise”. Employers will be required to “take reasonable steps, where practicable as work duties permit”, to protect their employees. Business establishments will be required to take the same “reasonable steps” to protect their customers by “encouraging use of masks”.
In short, the Governor’s order is not mandatory at all; it is a voluntary statewide mask recommendation and constitutes just more of the same. In an interesting twist, the Jefferson County Health Officer, Dr. Mark Wilson, told WBHM today that “The [County] inspectors can issue an emergency closure order if they see a restaurant or bar violates either county or state emergency orders concerning COVID-19. We intend to use it, if we need to.” Stay tuned on how that turns out.
With bad news continuing to mount, I had intended to devote today’s post to a significant ray of hope I see on the horizon - vaccines. In the interest of time and space, I’ve decided to do that in a separate post which I will post later this afternoon under the heading, “July 15, 2020 - Part B”. If you are looking for good news, be on the lookout. Now, for the 14-day totals:
7/2 - 1,162
7/3 - 1,754
7/4 - 997
7/5 - 1,091
7/6 - 925
7/7 - 907
7/8 - 1,110
7/9 - 2,212
7/10 - 1,334
7/11 - 1,402
7/12 - 1,640
7/13 - 1,958
7/14 - 1,710
7/15 - 1,812
Jefferson (263), Madison (172), Mobile (143) and Baldwin (103) counties exceeded 100 cases today. That is an ominous sign for Baldwin and perhaps indicates we are beginning to see infections tied to the Fourth of July weekend beach traffic. Remarkably, Montgomery Co. continues to surprise on the downside (42).