State Rep. Allen: ‘Doesn’t make much sense’ that liquor, big-box stores are open while churches remain closed

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May 3, 2020

State Rep. Wes Allen (R-Troy) on Sunday called on the Ivey administration to allow in-person church services and close contact businesses to reopen.

In a video, Allen called on State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris to immediately rescind aspects of the current “Safer-At-Home” order, which went into effect on Thursday, April 30, at 5:00 p.m. CT.

That order is set to expire on May 15 at 5:00 p.m. Governor Kay Ivey is expected before then to announce a new order that will replace it upon that expiration.

Allen, who represents portions of Pike and Dale Counties, said, “I’m calling on Dr. Scott Harris, our unelected chief health officer for the State of Alabama, to rescind portions of the Safer-At-Home order that he issued last week as it pertains to our close contact small businesses and to our churches.”

“You know, it doesn’t make much sense to me that our liquor stores and our big-box retail stores are open, for instance, while our barbers and our cosmetologists and our churches are shut down,” he continued. “We can keep the restrictions in place — the social distancing in place — we can keep the sanitation requirements in place, we can keep the capacity restrictions in place, but I think it’s time to allow our barbers and our salons and our churches to be able to reopen immediately.”

I’m calling on Dr Scott Harris to rescind portions of his ‘Safer at Home’ order that prohibit close contact businesses & churches from opening. See my video for my full statement. pic.twitter.com/xI3q6TQjNh

— Wes Allen (@RepWesAllen) May 3, 2020