April 20 COVID-19 Update

I hope you all are doing well. I continue to get lots of people asking about the State re-opening our closed businesses and letting people get back to work, so I will address that below. Last week, I had a lot of questions concerning the PPP money that was given out by banks. I understand all the money appropriated by the federal govt pursuant to the PPA has been given out, and Congress is working on a 2nd package, which is also expected to go quickly. Best course of action and advice on that continues to be to speak with your banker. I will include information on PPP below as well.

WEEKLY CONF CALL WITH GOVERNOR AND OTHER TOP OFFICIALS:

The Governor and Alabama State Health Officer, Dr. Scott Harris, shared Alabama’s most recent numbers and updates...

Approximately 4,946 COVID-19 positive tests in AL, and approx 1,000 of these are healthcare workers;45,712 Alabamians have been tested;  Approx 35% of AL’s population is considered high risk;641 people have been hospitalized since inception in AL reportedly related to COVID-19113 confirmed COVID-19 deaths in AL as of today, of the 165 reported COVID-19 deaths to date.Hospital capacity is positive, and thankfully it seems that NO alternative care sites will be needed or projected to be neededAll 67 counties across the state are testing;  no shortage of ventilators and everyone who has needed one, has been provided one.

Director of Finance, Kelly Butler, shared updates…

A 7 person “Executive Committee" has been formed to review recommended suggestions from the President, the Small Business Commission Task Force and other entities in the state about reopening the economy.  AL’s Commerce Secretary;  the Speaker of the AL House of Representatives;  the Speaker Pro-Tem of the AL Senate; Tim Vines (CEO of BCBS);  Nancy Johns (Retired Dean of the Virginia School of Medicine);  The current Dean of the UAB School Of Medicine, Dr Vickers; and the State's Health Officer. Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, Rick Pate, shared updates…Despite the obvious challenges, Alabama Ag and Industries are open and working hard to keep the supply chains moving Alabama inventory is SAFE, safer than it has ever been ADOL Secretary, Fitzgerald Washington, shared Alabama’s most recent numbers and updates…316,000 unemployment claims have been received in the past five weeks!Compared to ONLY 130,000 unemployment claims TOTAL in 2019 aloneAlabama is one of FEW states that have started issuing the $600 stimulus paymentA new ‘Claims Tracker’ system has been put in place on the ADOL websiteIf you are calling the AL Dpt of Labor and can not get through, please keep tryingAlabama Commissioner of Department of Corrections, Jeff Dunn, shared updates…As of this morning, 3 inmates total have tested positive for the Coronavirus.One was an inmate who was in the hospital for a previously diagnosed terminal illness (liver cancer), having already been in the hospital for 24 days at the time of his death, and not confirmed if death related to COVID-19The second inmate has been hospitalized to receive treatment and is progressing well. The area that housed the inmate is under a two-week quarantine.The third inmate is being treated in a quarantined section of that facility and is progressing well. The area that housed the inmate is under a two-week quarantine.In order to keep any potential spreading from occurring, the new inmates will spend 14 days quarantined prior to entering the usual intake processDOC has set up their textile manufacturing facilities to make masks for the inmates and protective gowns. All inmates will have 2 masks this week and over the next 2 weeks, each inmate should have 4 masksThose who have preexisting health conditions and staff have already been provided with masksDOC has PPE to meet current requirements for the foreseeable future with multiple shipments due in the next 2 weeks to the departmentDOC has established Rapid Response Teams in every facility to help implement these safety procedures.Alabama Commissioner of Department of Veterans Affairs, Admiral Kent Davis, shared updates regarding our veterans…Service office are closed to the public Counseling services are still available to veterans via phone Veteran burials are still taking place, but casket burials onlyThey will allow an appropriate memorial service to take place at a later dateOf the 4 Veterans homes around the state, only 1 has had positive test1 employee and 1 veteran tested positive  100% testing of all residents in that specific home has now been administered as a safety precautionIn the coming weeks Federal VA will arrive to ensure that all proper precautions are being taken to protect our veterans during this outbreak

The Re-opening of our Economy:

I have heard from many of you that it is time to re-open our economy and businesses, and get back to work. As stated above, the Governor has a 7 person Executive Committee listed above, and along with the State’s 7 Regional COVID-19 Commissions (chaired by each of AL’s 7 members of Congress), they will be advising the Governor on HOW and WHEN to open the State’s economy and businesses back up. This Committee is supposed to provide the Governor with a report by April 27th (one week from today) in advance of the current State Health Order expiring on April 30th. As the Gov previously stated, this re-opening could be done differently across different regions and areas of the State, and will likely involve a step by step process of lessening restrictions to get back to normal.

The Governor has said she wants to open our economy back up and get people back to work, and I know she means it. She also has said the State will be complying with the directives from the White House and the CDC in doing so, and has referenced the need to see a reduction in new cases in the State over a week to 14 day period in order to start lessening the restrictions and begin opening our State and businesses back up. As of now, we have not seen a reduction of new cases for such a period, and in fact, she indicated we have had an increase of cases in the last 10 days. But, that was not unexpected, as today was the approximate date when AL was supposed to reach its peak of highest number of cases.

As you may have seen, the Small Business Commission Task Force, apparently formed a Sub-Committee that published recommendations for re-opening businesses, and this Sub-Committee went ahead and held its own press conference and suggested dates for re-opening various businesses. I know this was confusing to many people in that many thought this was official action taken by the State in light of the press conference and media outreach that was held on this, but this was simply a report of recommendations for the Governor and her Executive Committee to consider. If you have any suggestions for the Governor and her Executive Comm to consider on how best to open up businesses and our economy, please send to me, and I will be glad to pass on to the Governor and members of the Executive Committee who will be making these decisions.

My thought is, and this is nothing more than an educated guess, is that the Governor will likely start lessening some of the restrictions in the current State Health Order that expires on April 30, by declaring that as of say May 1st, those businesses and areas of the State that have been closed, may re-open with some limitations/restrictions, such as 50% capacity in retail stores or restaurants, and various other social distancing and safety precautions for customers and workers for example. I would think beaches and other recreational areas would also be opened with some social distancing and safety limitations as well. I do NOT expect a full blown return to normal by May 1st by any means, but I do expect some restrictions to be lifted allowing those businesses that were closed to re-open, and for our beaches and recreational areas to re-open as well. I believe this can be done safely and responsibly, and feel strongly that most businesses can easily re-open and do so safely by May 1st. It is not right that "big box” stores continue to be able to be open and sell the exact same items that these small businesses sell, simply because they sell other essential items as well.

And the simple fact remains that regardless whether these businesses and recreational areas are open, we as a people still need to try and do our part to try and make sure we don’t spread the virus, by continuing to take the simple and easy precautions we have been through social distancing and the like, and especially so with regards to anyone that may be considered in the "vulnerable population” as relates to this virus. 

It is an honor to serve you in the Alabama Legislature, and please don’t hesitate to contact me if I can be of service.

Peace, David