Stay-at-home order to be enforced in Vestavia Hills
While the city of Vestavia Hills does not plan to add any further restrictions outside of those created by Alabama Governor Kay Ivey’s stay-at-home order due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, the order will be enforced.
Captain Johnny Evans with the Vestavia Hills Police Department said while the police will not be “going through backyards” to ensure everyone stays in their home, if they see or become aware of people breaking the order, they will ask them to go home.
Evans used the example of seeing a group of people at Byrd Park. Police would ask the group to leave and warn them, but if the group refused to leave, they would then be arrested for a misdemeanor and face a fine between $25 and $500.
The police are not changing their daily routines to enforce the order, Evans said, but they will ask people to respect the order if they are caught breaking it, he said.
The city’s communications director, Cinnamon McCulley, said the city does not plan to add anything on top of Ivey’s order, which can be read here.
While city services have undergone some changes due to the spread of the coronavirus, McCulley said no further changes have come as a result of the order. Residents can see those changes in the city’s alert center, found here.
The governor’s decree orders people to stay in their home unless they are obtaining or providing essential or necessary services, attending religious services [though services of 10 or more people are discouraged], taking care of others, working, engaging in outdoor activity, seeking shelter, traveling as required by law or visiting family members.
McCulley said as of April 6, the city had less than 10 positive COVID-19 cases. It is believed the city has seven cases, but that is not 100 percent clear, she said.
Statewide, the latest numbers from the state health department shows 1,927 total cases in Alabama with at least 32 deaths. Jefferson County has the lion’s share of those cases, with 418 confirmed cases and five confirmed deaths. Five more deaths in the county have been reported but have not been confirmed as being caused by the virus.