MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Governor Kay Ivey is working to create a timeline that she's hoping will allow the state's economy to reopen.
She has asked Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth to work with the state's small business administration and the state's congressional delegations to provide her with plans for reopening local economies. According to Ivey, the planning has been underway for several weeks. Her recovery team is working to evaluate all of the plans offered to determine what is best for the state, and she acknowledged that there is no "one-size-fits-all" answer due to the differences in economy, size, geography, and other factors between cities.
The state Department of Labor is working to process the more than 250,000 unemployment applications received in the last few weeks.Total unemployment claims in the state in March and April of 2019 were approximately 145,000.
She cautioned that the timelines and reopening will be subject to recommendations from state health officials to make sure that it's done in the safest way possible.
"We'll hopefully be able to give regular updates on what segments of the economy might be in a position to open including when and how. We'll also allow our businesses both large and small ample time to plan for a safe responsible reopening," says Ivey.
She plans to review plans before the state's stay-at-home order expires on April 30.
State Health Officer Scott Harris says that at this time, there are about 100 deaths believed to be related to COVID-19, with about 75% of those confirmed to be due to COVID-19. There are more than 3,800 cases and 28,000 people tested. He believes that upcoming cases will be able to be handled within existing hospital facilities. When questioned about PPE supplies and ventilators, Harris said that while the supply of ventilators appears to be ok, the PPE supply is still troublesome because of global shortages and supply chain problems, but the state is working to acquire more and has placed an order it hopes to receive soon.
He also stated that COVID-19 appears to disproportionately affect African-Americans, along with people with chronic health conditions, and that those populations need to be protected.
When questioned about President Trump's statement about his authority to reopen states, Ivey said, that while she wants to work with other governors and the federal government, she will do what's best for Alabama.
When asked about what social distancing looks like in her life, Governor Ivey said that she stays alone wherever she goes and relies on technology to keep her in touch with mayors, legislators, and other officials.
One point she stressed is that it takes at least two full weeks to really see results from a stay-at-home order, but based on traffic reports from ALEA, people are staying home.