A message from Birmingham Business Alliance Interim President and CEO Fred McCallum:

I write to you today hopefully to remove any confusion that exists on which businesses in Jefferson County and the City of Birmingham are required to be closed at this point and which are not. On Sunday, March 22, 2020, the Jefferson County Health Officer issued an Amended Order Suspending Certain Public Gatherings and Closing Nonessential Businesses and Services Due To Risk of Infection by COVID-19. Click here to see this message. In the first paragraph of that order, the Chief Health Officer required that all “Nonessential” businesses be closed effective Monday, March 23, 2020, at 5 p.m.

Attached to the order is a detailed list of the types of services that are considered “Nonessential.” If your business does not fall into one of those “Nonessential” categories, you are not required to close your business at this time. That said, all businesses at this point should be adjusting operations as much as possible in order to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The County Health Officer logically approached this order by listing the “Nonessential” businesses, leaving all other businesses to make their own determination as to whether they need to be open or closed.

Click here to read the Shelter in Place Ordinance that the Birmingham City Council adopted on Tuesday, March 24, 2020. During his explanation of the Ordinance, Mayor Woodfin made clear that the Ordinance does not close any businesses not already closed by the Chief Health Officer. The Mayor said that any businesses that are not on the Jefferson County Department of Health’s “Nonessential” list can continue operating and employees can continue coming to work as directed by their employers.

Importantly, there is no City or County list of “Essential” businesses to which your business or industry can be added. To our knowledge, neither the City nor the County are issuing certifications of individual businesses as “Essential.”

Hopefully you can easily determine that your business does or does not come within the type of services described in the “Nonessential” list attached to the Jefferson County Health Officer’s order of March 22, 2020. If your business is “Nonessential,” it should be closed; otherwise, it is allowed to remain open.

The Birmingham Business Alliance’s Resource Page has additional information for businesses regarding COVID-19. And as always, the BBA staff stands ready to help local businesses affected by the impacts of the COVID-19 and connect them with resources available.

Thank you,

Fred McCallum

Interim President and CEO

Birmingham Business Alliance