City of Birmingham to require face coverings during COVID-19

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The Birmingham City Council, at its regular meeting for Tuesday, April 28, voted 8-1 to pass an ordinance requiring that people wear some sort of face covering or mask in public in Birmingham during the COVID-19 public health emergency and recovery.

The ordinance will go into effect Friday, May 1, and affects anyone in the city from age 2 and up.

The masks do not have to be medical grade but must cover the wearer’s nose and mouth.

Mayor Randall Woodfin submitted the ordinance to the council and stressed that the city should do everything it can to protect the public health.

“This is the right thing to do,” Woodfin said.

There is a fine of up to $500, he said. If someone is cited, that person can either pay the fine or show up for the court date.

As more information becomes available in the month of May regarding testing and the number of COVID-19 cases in the area, the ordinance can be changed, the mayor said.

The only no vote on the ordinance came from Councilor Hunter Williams, chair of the Public Safety Committee. He initially voted yes. However, later in the meeting, he asked that the vote be held again and voted no.

Following Gov. Kay Ivey's announcement at a news conference this morning that she would begin relaxing the state's pandemic-related restrictions on the economy as of May 15, Williams suggested that the city amend the face coverings ordinance to add a sunset date of May 15.

For information on creating different types of cloth face coverings from items commonly found around the house, go to this CDC link.

UPDATE 4-27-20 12:35 P.M.—This post was updated to add the CDC link and the information regarding the vote by Councilor Williams.