Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox announced Monday that he has issued an executive order closing all bars and bar service at restaurants in the city for 14 days.
He said the decision was made in concert with the University of Alabama and local health officials.
Maddox appeared at a press conference alongside University of Alabama President Stuart Bell and Dean of the College of Community Health Sciences Dr. Ricky Friend.
The order goes into effect Monday at 5:00 p.m. CT and will be in effect through September 8.
“Fall in Tuscaloosa is in serious jeopardy,” warned Maddox at the announcement.
The executive order can be accessed here.
Bell, who spoke first at the event, said that in recent days the university has experienced an “unacceptable” rise in cases that “threatened the ability” for the school to complete the semester on campus.
He reiterated that the testing results as students returned to campus were low, indicating spread within the campus community since students have returned.
Pictures of students congregating in bars and not observing COVID-19 precautions like wearings masks and social distancing have attracted attention online in recent days.
Governor Kay Ivey issued a statement on Monday in support of Tuscaloosa’s decision to close bars.
“I appreciate Mayor Walt Maddox and The University of Alabama leadership for tackling a serious problem as quickly as possible. If you we do not act expeditiously, it leaves the potential for a situation to get out of hand, which would require even tougher, longer-lasting decisions to be enacted,” remarked Ivey.
“My hope is that this will be just a brief pause on their plans to reopen and that we can get this in our rearview mirror sooner, rather than later. Clearly, it takes everyone working together to keep Alabama moving in the right direction,” she added.
The move by a municipal mayor to close bars as part of the coronavirus response is the first of its kind in Alabama, though other mayors have taken stringent steps like issuing curfews and local mask orders in the past.
Yellowhammer News has asked the office of Attorney General Steve Marshall for comment on the matter.
Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: henry@new-yhn.local or on Twitter @HenryThornton95
