MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – Montgomery leaders expressed growing concern at the spike in COVID-19 cases Tuesday, and again urged residents to stay home as much as possible or to wear a face mask when out in public.
An ordinance is expected to be brought up at Tuesday’s Montgomery City Council meeting that would make use of face masks mandatory while in public.
But as County Commission Chairman Elton Dean explained, the commission has no authority to mandate a mask requirement on a county level.
Instead, Dean and the commission are leaning on the private sector to step up, to put those requirements into place before a person can shop in their establishments.
Dean, citing a policy from Costco that requires mask use in its stores, listed off a number of other big box stores that could follow suit.
“Today, I want to request, not require, request that our big box stores and all the companies we allow to open back up for business…they can require people coming into their facility to wear a mask,” the commissioner stated.
Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed was blunt in his assessment. “We are at a point that we cannot sustain much longer,” he said, adding that “our hospitals are reaching a breaking point.”
Currently there are 179 patients being treated for COVID-19 in local hospitals including 62 at Jack