Montgomery, Pike Road leaders plead with people to wear masks
One by one, leaders from city of Montgomery, the county, the town of Pike Road and the state of Alabama stepped forward at a joint press conference Tuesday to plead for people here show empathy for those around them during the pandemic by wearing masks in public, and to ask businesses to require their use.
Montgomery County Commission Chairman Elton Dean called the press conference after talking with doctors here this morning who told him wearing masks and practicing social distancing could cut down the spread of the novel coronavirus by about 80%.
Most described a friend, a family member or a co-worker who has struggled with the virus. Alabama Department of Public Health Chief Medical Officer Mary McIntyre said she lost two friends last week. Montgomery County Commissioner Dan Harris said a relative died of the virus, and her daughter recovered after weeks on a ventilator.
Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed said a city street maintenance worker died last week. "He had a family. He was a friend. He was a neighbor, and he was a church member," Reed said. "He was someone that was well respected by his colleagues.
"We have to keep in mind that behind these numbers and behind these statistics are people in our community."
Doctors have said that masks are more effective at preventing the wearer from spreading the virus than preventing the wearer from catching it, meaning people have to rely on those around them to be cautious.
The City/County Emergency Management Agency has distributed hundreds of masks to essential workers here "who have to get out there because if your garbage doesn't get picked up twice a week you complain," EMA Director Christi Thornton said. They've also supplied masks to five community centers as well as city and county leaders to distribute.
"If you don't like the fact that we're requesting you wear masks, and that businesses are requiring it and you can't afford one, contact your city councilman or your county commissioner," Thornton said. "Every box store and pharmacy has masks. If you cannot afford one, call my office (334-625-4133). We'll work something out."
Montgomery County has seen a surge of new cases of the novel coronavirus since Memorial Day. That surge sent it rocketing past Jefferson and Mobile counties for the total number of cases, despite having a population that's less than half the size.
By Tuesday morning, another 131 new cases of COVID-19 had been reported in Montgomery County. That widened its lead over Mobile County, where 74 new cases were reported in the same time frame.
Montgomery City Councilman C.C. Calhoun said Monday that he plans to introduce a proposal at Tuesday night's City Council meeting that would mandate the use of masks in larger buildings in the city.
That plan was not addressed at the press conference, but Montgomery County officials and Pike Road Mayor Gordon Stone separately said they don't plan to mandate mask-wearing. "You can't mandate what you can't enforce," Stone said.
Stone conceded that "we're all dealing with a little bit of COVID fatigue" right now, but urged people to be smart in seeking out information from reputable sources like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the ADPH, and then do what it takes to remain safe.
"This is not overly complicated," he said.
Thorton said some people may not take the virus seriously because less than 3% of the county's population has tested positive, and "only" 70 people have died since March. "But what if that's one of your family members? That's why you need to be considerate in this," she said.
McIntyre said she's screening family members who come to her house. Harris said he stayed away from a friend's funeral out of caution.
"If it hasn't touched you, believe me, at some point it's going to touch you," Harris said. "I pray not, but at the rate we're going…"
Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Brad Harper at bharper1@gannett.com.