For Immediate Release: April 24, 2020
Contact: Daniel Schwartz, 205-451-3352, daniel@fiaal.org
Heather Cabral, 202-550-6880, heather@westendstrategy.com
Clergy with Faith in Action Alabama issued the statement below. This comes after several of the leaders called on Gov. Ivey to be a leader in fight against coronavirus and expand Medicaid
“We want to applaud Gov. Ivey for reaffirming earlier this week her wise decision to keep in place a statewide “shelter-in-place” policy to fight the COVID-19 scourge.
As faith leaders responsible for the well-being of tens of thousands of our congregants and communities we believe that the shelter-in-place policy can only be lifted when we as a state have heard from public health experts that Alabama has achieved a three-fold criteria. This criteria should include: (a) COVID-19 testing capacity for all who are exhibiting symptoms related to the coronavirus and who have been in contact with people who are infected, and sufficient contact tracing capacity to ensure all who have been in contact with a person infected by the virus can be identified and tested; (b) sufficient ICU beds are available for the expected rise in COVID-19 cases once the “shelter-in-place” policy is lifted; and (c) that the state has taken all necessary steps to prevent nursing homes and jails, prisons and detention centers from becoming virus hotspots, as they have in other states.
In order to assure that we have capacity in our hospitals and reduce the loss of life it is especially important to slow the spread of COVID-19 in behind bars by releasing as many people as possible and taking measures to protect those who remain incarcerated. Our elected officials must look to wisdom of public health expertise to ensure none of God’s children are needlessly endangered by COVID-19.”
The clergy issuing the statement include;
Rev. Jeremiah Chester, Pastor, St. Mark Baptist Church, Huntsville; Rev. David Frazier, Sr. Pastor, Revelation Missionary Baptist Church, Mobile, Moderator, Mobile Baptist Sunlight District Association; Bishop Teresa Jefferson-Snorton; Presiding Prelate, Fifth Episcopal District (serving the states of Alabama and Florida) of The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church (CME); Bishop Seth O. Lartey Presiding Prelate, Alabama-Florida District of The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (AME Zion); Bishop Harry L. Seawright, Presiding Prelate, Ninth Episcopal District of The African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), Dr. A.B. Sutton, Jr. Pastor, Living Stones Temple, Fultondale; Rev. Manuel Williams, C.R., Pastor, Resurrection Catholic Church/Missions, Montgomery.
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