Birmingham City Council Extends Citywide Mask Order

BIRMINGHAM, AL — The Birmingham City Council Tuesday voted to extend the mandatory mask order beyond the expiration of the statewide order Friday. The council voted 8-1 to keep the mask mandate through May 24.

The city instituted the mask mandate on May 1 last year, more than two months before Gov. Kay Ivey announced the statewide order in July.

Councilman William Parker said the city will look at the issue in "30 to 45 day increments" when deciding on whether to let the citywide order expire or to extend it further.

Ivey announced March 4 that she would not extend the statewide mask order beyond April 9, saying she wanted to make sure more Alabamians were vaccinated before lifting the order.

"I believe more Alabamians need to get their first shot before we take a step some other states have taken to remove the mask order altogether and lift all restrictions," Ivey said. "Folks, we're not there yet, but we're getting close."

Birmingham businesses will still require mask guidelines, despite the statewide order's expiration.

The Jefferson County Department of Health reports that the county is averaging 60 new COVID-19 cases per day over the last 7 days. By comparison, the county averaged 150 new cases per day for the first week of March.

More than 1.3 million people in Alabama have received one or more doses of the vaccine and 662,638 people have received a completed series of vaccinations. The Alabama Department of Public Health Monday opened vaccine eligibility to anyone over the age of 16.

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