CITY OF BIRMINGHAM UTTING PEOPLE FIRST MAYOR RANDALL L. WOODFIN April 30, 2020 Dear Attomey General Marshall, Thave just received your letter regarding the city of Bitmingham’s ordinance requiring the use of face coverings in public places to protect the citizens of Birmingham. Since my office has already received several calls from the press asking about it, T assume the letter has been widely distributed by you. As you know, the City of Birmingham has been very thoughtful and proactive since the COVID- 19 crisis began, and the Birmingham City Council and I have made every responsible effort to protect our citizens from the virus, both in terms of their health and in terms of their economic well-being, We were the first city in Alabama to issue a stay-at-home order to reduce the spread of COVID- 19. At that time, your office objected to that action as an overreach, but as you know, Gov. Ivey soon took similar action statewide. Since that time, stay-at-home orders have been commonly implemented by most states. Let me be clear that every action we take has two purposes: to protect the health of our citizens to the greatest extent possible and to get our businesses back open as quickly as possible so our citizens can go back to work. Earlier this week, the Birmingham City Council took action to require citizens in Birmingham to wear face coverings when they are in public places. This action has the support of the White House, the Centers for Disease Control, the Alabama public health officer, and other health ‘experts. Locally, the action taken by the Birmingham City Council has the support of the Jefferson County health officer and our other healthcare leaders. Furthermore, more than 50 other cities around the country have taken the same action. This moming, I spent several hours with our public safety leaders, including our police chief and fire chief. Ican assure you that Birmingham law enforcement is very mindful of the reasons for this action and has clear guidance on how to implement it. The ordinance is written so that we are clear that wearing a mask by all citizens in public places is required to protect public health. We have also included many exemptions to make this order practical and effective. Our actions have been reviewed carefully by legal counsel to ensure they are appropriate under our ongoing state of emergency and previous orders of the state health officer. ‘As you may or may not know, the White House gave five “gates” that each city and state should surpass before any economic reopening takes place. As of today, Jefferson County has met only one of those five gates. But because we know that protecting our citizens also means protecting 710 NORTH 20TH ST. BIRMINGHAM, AL 33203 7 \VIWBIRMINGHAMAL GOVtheir economic security, we are intentionally focused on getting our businesses open and people ‘back to work as quickly as possible while taking every action to minimize the risk to public health. Our city is following the new guidance of Gov. Ivey and the state health officer by reducing the limitations of our citizens to leave their home. Today, the Birmingham City Council is expected to reduce our current 24-hour stay-at-home order and to implement a curfew between the hours of 10 p.m, and 5 a.m, Finally, I want to recognize the balanced approach Gov. Ivey is taking on this matter. While she has leaned on top health and business leaders across the state - many from Jefferson County ~- to develop 2 minimum statewide policy, she has supported local leaders taking additional action if circumstances require it. [have personally talked with several members of Gov. Ivey’s executive committee, and they support our actions here in Birmingham and believe they are appropriate and important steps to protect public health. ‘As I said earlier, every action we have taken has been to protect the health of our citizens against the deadly COVID-19 virus and start a process to get our businesses back open as quickly as possible, We are balancing these interests carcfully, cautiously and lawfully. commend our leaders in Birmingham and Jefferson County for taking early and decisive action to fight this battle, ‘Nonetheless, Jefferson County has experienced one of the state’s highest number of cases and deaths, and I would remind you our state’s African-American residents have been disproportionately affected, We are making progress, but Jefferson County still has clear incidence of community transmission. We still have a threat that must be carefully managed. If you have any questions, please fee! free to call. You have my cell number. Also feel free to call the leading healthcare officials in the City of Birmingham and ask their opinion of our actions. Tam confident you will find we are on the same page regarding this critical issue of life or death, Sincerely,