Alabama's Top Health Officer: Without Compliance, Health Orders Can Only Go So Far

Alabama State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris updates Alabama's residents on COVID-19's spread in March, in Montgomery, Ala.Alabama State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris updates Alabama's residents on COVID-19's spread in March, in Montgomery, Ala.The surge in COVID-19 infections throughout Alabama is forcing Gov. Kay Ivey to rethink plans to reopen the state.coronavirus cases, with hospitalizations at their highest level since the pandemic began.to the end of July.

Dr. Scott Harris, the state health officer, says Alabama isn't going so far as to implement mandatory orders because, he says, Alabamans are flouting the orders that are already in place. "I think we certainly would prefer to have additional restrictions if we felt like they could be effective," Harris says in an interview with NPR's."And, frankly ... we don't necessarily get the compliance we would like to see, even with the current orders in place."You're saying that you would put more restrictions in place if you felt like they could be effective? Other states have closed bars, for example. Alabama has not.

I think an order to close bars would be effective in many ways. But not as effective perhaps as things that I wish we could have done a few months ago. We asked a lot from the state originally with our stay-at-home order and for the most part, people complied. But really, at this point, the state does not really have an appetite for a lot more restrictions. And by the time our stay-at-home order was ready to be rescinded, we had quite a number of people who were [flouting] the order.

NPR's Gustavo Contreras, Vincent Acovino and Christopher Intagliata produced and edited this interview for broadcast. Emma Bowman adapted it for the Web.

vanesaguillen

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Mississippi Health Officer: People's Actions Lead To COVID-19 Case SpikesNPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Mississippi State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs about the state's drastic uptick in coronavirus cases. Some hospitals' ICU's are on the edge of capacity.
Source: NPRHealth - 🏆 144. / 63 Read more »

Mississippi Health Officer: Wear A Mask Because Coronavirus 'Isn't Going Anywhere'NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Mississippi State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs about the state's drastic uptick in coronavirus cases. Some hospital ICUs are on the edge of capacity. Scam WearAMask There's no way that guy is FROM Mississippi.. he sounds edgamacated.
Source: NPRHealth - 🏆 144. / 63 Read more »

California bill would shield health officer addresses as death threats riseA California bill would shield public health officers' home addresses. The new legislation aims to protect officials who have faced death threats this year for imposing coronavirus requirements 💥 What is wrong with people? Stop attacking people that serve you
Source: politico - 🏆 381. / 59 Read more »

Coronavirus live updates: Fauci, other top health officials to testify before lawmakersThe coronavirus has infected more than 10.3 million people around the world as of Tuesday, killing at least 505,518 people. I’ve seen this ride before Yeah, because there’s more testing. Show the graph of deaths. It’s not going up. Lack of leadership
Source: CNBC - 🏆 12. / 72 Read more »

This is what top U.S. health officials say we should do differently for the next pandemicThe U.S. would need to do a better job of responding to the outbreak 'in a coordinated way' rather than facing challenges with disparate responses, Dr. Anthony Fauci told lawmakers. What are they saying about how to get out this pandemic?! 1 - Don't put infected people in nursing homes. NYGovCuomo Don’t listen to the sky is falling liberals.
Source: CNBC - 🏆 12. / 72 Read more »

As states halt reopening of bars and indoor dining, public health experts urge more cautionSome epidemiologists say that drinking establishments should not be serving patrons anytime soon.
Source: YahooNews - 🏆 380. / 59 Read more »