Birmingham's Mask Order Set To Expire Monday

BIRMINGHAM, AL — Birmingham's citywide mask mandate is set to expire Monday, as the Birmingham City Council opted not to extend the order at its last meeting Tuesday. The order expires at 5 p.m.

Mayor Randall Woodfin said in a news conference May 14 that he had no plans of recommending an extension to the mask ordinance, and would leave the decision up to the council.

Councilor Hunter Williams said leading up to last week's meeting that the council would likely vote on a resolution to extend the order, but said after the meeting that the resolution never made it to the table, opening the door for the order to expire on its own.

"It has been my opinion from the beginning of this mask ordinance that it has little to do with the number of active cases or actual hospitalizations in our area," Williams said. "Unfortunately this also indicates that the CDC guidance would have a little effect on the vote. The ordinance was never truly grounded in public health. An example of this is how Birmingham indicated they were not going to even enforce the mask ordinance but make small business owners enforce it instead."

The Centers for Disease Control announced May 13 that face coverings were no longer necessary for those who are fully vaccinated. This prompted eight states to lift mask mandates, but individual cities can impose their own mandates, as Birmingham did in April.

The announcement from the CDC said, "Fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance."

"I think it is clear The CDC guidance just confirms what most Birmingham residents and Alabamians have been doing, which is using common sense in conjunction with getting the vaccine," Williams said. "It is clearer now more than ever the importance of getting vaccinated."

As of Friday, 1.6 million Alabamians had been fully vaccinated, although the state remains last in the country in percentage of eligible residents vaccinated. Jefferson County remains above the statewide percentage, as 32 percent of the county's eligible residents have been vaccinated.

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