City Of Tuscaloosa To Require Masks In Municipal Court Building

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The City of Tuscaloosa will soon require face coverings for entry into its municipal court building, beginning on Wednesday, Sept. 1.

Click here to subscribe to our Tuscaloosa Daily newsletter and breaking news alerts

City of Tuscaloosa spokesperson Richard Rush said on Thursday that members of the public entering the building without a mask will be provided one, as the city works toward an accommodating pivot for public exhausted by pandemic policy shifts.

This comes amid a rising number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the area and nationwide. However, the policy is in line with Mayor Walt Maddox's previous assertion that the city would take a more surgical approach with respect to implementing public health directives, as opposed to a sweeping mandate for all city departments.

ALSO READ: DCH Says 91% Of COVID-19 ICU Patients Unvaccinated

As the vaccine has come available, the City of Tuscaloosa saw its overall number of employees out on COVID-19 leave drop dramatically from previous totals, thus removing the burden of maintain a stable workforce as seen during the surge prior to the vaccine becoming available to front-line workers.

And the city continues to closely monitor the situation as it develops, the most recent revelation came on Wednesday when Tuscaloosa City Schools reported more than 100 of its nearly 11,000 students were out after testing positive for the virus within the first two weeks of the 2021-2022 school year.

While 1% of the total student population is a low number by comparison to previous spikes, it occurred despite a temporary mask order for all students and employees — underscoring the transmissibility of new strains of the virus and the susceptibility of children to its new forms.

Have a news tip or suggestion on how I can improve Tuscaloosa Patch? Maybe you're interested in having your business become one of the latest sponsors for Tuscaloosa Patch? Email all inquiries to me at ryan.phillips@patch.com.