April 14 COVID-19 Update

Friends and Neighbors,
I hope you all had a blessed Easter or Passover despite the storms that raged across the South!! I am sure it was very different like ours, but I hope you were able to be with some family and to participate albeit remotely, in your church or temple service. I think this is the first time I have not attended church in person on Easter Sunday, and it was a little weird to see our children have an Easter egg hunt inside! But, all went well, and we only lost power for about 6 hours Sunday night, and I hope it was a meaningful and good day for all of you!  As I continue to say, we have so much to be thankful for, and this pandemic had made me realize that even more! We should continue to pray even more, and make sure we thank God for all that he has done and continues to do for us.  

THIS WEEK’S CALL WITH GOVERNOR & STATE HEALTH OFFICER:

I had my legislative weekly conference call with the Governor and our State Health Officer, Scott Harris, yesterday. We also heard from our Secretary of Labor and our State EMA Director.  

First, the State was fortunate to have no deaths from the storms that came through the South on Sunday night. Unfortunately, Mississippi had 11 deaths and GA had 6 deaths as a result of the storms.

Second, Yesterday was exactly one month from Alabama’s 1st COVID-19 confirmed case. We have a little over 3,600 COVID-19 confirmed cases in AL as of yesterday. We are right at 100 reported COVID-19 deaths in AL, with around 65 of those deaths confirmed resulting directly from COVID-19. A little over 29,000 people have been tested in Alabama, so just like the rest of the nation, we still see a small percentage of those who have been tested actually having the virus. 457 people who tested positive had to be hospitalized in AL since the onset. African Americans continue to see higher rates of infection and to have greater issues with COVID-19 than other races.  

Third, the estimated peak of the virus is expected to be one week from yesterday, or or about Monday, April 20th. The great news is that it appears we will be able to handle the treatment of all infected patients who need to be hospitalized at the expected peak of the virus within our hospitals. Meaning we don’t have to use the Alternative Care Sites we have on stand-by. Right now, we still have 40% availability in our hospitals in the State, and data suggests we will be around 81% capacity at the peak of the virus. ICU beds are still available now, and data suggests we will be close to capacity at the peak early next week, so the State is monitoring the ICU bed supply very closely. We have a sufficient number of ventilators even for the expected peak. Right now, we have 298 people in our hospitals who have tested positive, and 337 people in hospitals with symptoms awaiting testing.  

Fourth, we have State testing in all of AL’s counties now and adding more every day. Looking to add 60+ testing sites in next 2 weeks. PPE continues to be the biggest concern in AL, and a new purchase just made by the State. AL has recd 15 point of care testing machines, but there is a shortage of testing kits for those machines.

AL SECRETARY OF LABOR:

February unemployment for AL was 2.7%, which was better than the national unemployment rate of 3.5%. The national unemployment rate went up to 4.4% for March, and he will release AL’s unemployment numbers for March on Friday of this week, an expects a sharp uptick. 73,000 unemployment claims filed last week, and 98,000 claims the week before that, and 11,000 claims yesterday alone. In summary, 264,000 unemployment claims in AL in last 4 weeks, compared to 130,000 all last year!

GOVERNOR PRESS CONFERENCE TODAY:

Governor asked everyone to keep following the State Health Order that is in effect until April 30th. She said she has a Task Force looking at how and when we can get people back to work in the State, and she is working closely with AL’s 7 members of Congress as well as 6 members of her Corona Virus Task Force. They will be looking at how to move forward and get Alabama’s economy back and running and doing so safely and responsibly. She expects the relaxing of the restrictions to be taken one step at a time, and there not be a complete elimination of all restrictions at once. She also said she expects it could be a region by region approach across the State. One example she mentioned would be allowing those businesses that have to be shut down now to be able to open, but only allow 50% capacity in the store or business for a period of time.  

OPENING THE STATE UP FOR BUSINESS:

Many people ask when is the State going to start taking measures to open the State back up for business, and I think that is going to depend on the health data coming in. Right now, we still see an increase in positive cases in the State, (with the peak expected early next week), and we need to see the new cases start to decline. The Gov's Task Force will be looking at everything as they try to make recommendations on opening the State back up for business, but if the numbers and data go as expected, I would expect we could at least see some initial lessening of some restrictions in May.

THE LEGISLATURE:

By the AL Constitution, the Legislature has to be finished with the General Session by May 18th, 2020. We have 15 legislative days left we can meet this Session, and we are supposed to come back on April 28th. Obviously, that date could change and will depend on the health data. If we are able to come back, our priorities will be the 2 budgets (especially the Education budget), 2 economic bills (SSUT and Jobs Tax Credit) and the Gov’s Prison Bill package. I doubt we will be able to take up much else. The Governor can call a Special Session, and we can address whatever she puts in her “call” for us to take up. I am very glad we had not passed our State budgets before this virus hit our nation and State. We will need to be prepared for a severe economic blow to our State and to do our budgets wisely with this in mind. The great news is that we had a great 1st 6 months in our fiscal year, and even if we have a terrible remaining 6 months of the fiscal year, we should not face proration and because of the conservative approach we have taken with your tax dollars.  

HELP FOR BUSINESSES:

Many of my calls have been from small business owners regarding the help and aid they can apply for and receive. I have sent numerous materials and information out to people about this, as well as to the chambers of commerce in my District. I understand most banks began paying out PPP money yesterday. I have not heard of anyone receiving the SBA’s EIDL money yet however. Please don’t hesitate to call me if I can be of assistance to you. Call me at 205 250-6604, or email me at David@DavidFaulknerAL46.com. It is my honor to represent and serve you in he Alabama Legislature as your State Representative, and I am here to serve you. 

Peace, David