HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Governor Kay Ivey laid out plans Tuesday for how Alabama will reopen.
Starting Thursday, April 30th at 5:00 pm, Alabama will transition from our current stay-at-home order to a safer-at-home order which will last at least through May 15th.
Under Alabama's new Safer-at-Home order, businesses considered high-risk are still being forced to remain closed.
Huntsville resident, Will Snyder said, "I'm ready to get back, but at the same time, I understand that."
Huntsville resident, Steve Covington, said, "Frankly, on the health side, I get it. I understand that and kind of happy about that a little bit. I feel if we opened everything up all at once, all the restaurants, all the close-contact businesses, I think we'd see a pretty good spike."
Under the new order, elective medical procedures can be done, and retail stores are allowed to open at 50% capacity.
Beaches will also open with social distancing guidelines in place.
Huntsville resident, Jarrett Grubb, said, "There's not really any other public space where you could get much further. I feel like it's just sitting out here on the greenway, like everybody's going to do their part to stay away from each other so I don't feel like it's that big of a deal to open the beaches back up."
Close-contact businesses will still remain closed.
Nancy and Steve Covington own two barber shops in Huntsville. They say they've been hit hard and just want to open back up.
"Steve is still an essential worker, so it's not hitting me as badly as some of our other barbers that don't have a spouse that's working," said Nancy Covington. "It's painful to watch. Everybody's always texting with each other, 'did you get you an appointment?' 'did you get your PPP loan?' No, you know, so all these things are available to us, but it can't get to us."
People are urged to continue to wear face coverings when at work and in public.
For more information about the Safer-at-Home order, click here.
WATCH: Madison County adapting to Safer-at-Home order