With the statewide mask ordinance expiring Friday, Madison County businesses are considering their options concerning their customers and their employees in terms of their masking policies going forward.

Local officials discussed these options, along with an update on sequencing and efficacy from the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology this week.

“We are so close to this being finished, to looking at this (COVID-19 pandemic) in the rearview mirror,” said Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle. “The numbers are some of the best we have seen in a long time, so if we continue to mask, sanitize, and separate for just a little while longer, we think we will be in great shape for it ending and our being able to go back to a new normal.

He said that, while as a community we have worked for over a year to get to this place, there may still be some trying times between now and the end.

“Keeping the community and its citizens safe is still a priority and we want to continue to work together as a community to encourage people and businesses to use their individual choice in terms of wearing masks in public,” he said. “The City of Huntsville will continue to require masks if you are working one-on-one with our employees.

“I believe the courthouse and the hospitals will probably continue to mask for another 30 to 45 days, but we encourage you to do what feels right for your business and your customers.”

Madison Mayor Paul Finley seconded that policy for the City of Madison.

“I know everyone is worn out from it – I feel like I have been in the middle of a battle I didn’t want to be in to start with – but we had a meeting this morning to discuss the policy for city facilities and we will continue to mask,” he said. “However, other departments and businesses can manage their departments however they see fit, according to how they interact with the public.

Dr. Neil Lamb, faculty investigator and vice president for educational outreach at HudsonAlpha said they are cautiously optimistic as they keep their eye on sequencing three key variants of the virus known to the public as the UK variant, the South African variant, and the Brazilian variant.

“We have come through a challenging 13 months,” he said. “A year ago, we did not have a lot of information and data on the virus. What a difference we see now that we know what we need to be doing and we have vaccines.

“We see some 20 percent of the UK variant in our sequencing and small numbers in the other two, but that is low compared to other states… We are seeing that as we get more people vaccinated, there is less opportunity for these variants.”

He said in Alabama, the vaccination rate is currently 1.8 million with 53 percent of people age 65 and over having been vaccinated in Madison County.

“The good news is that all three vaccines, the Phizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are all three effective in both keeping you from getting ill if you are exposed to the virus, and keeping you from spreading it if you do get it,” Lamb said.

He also said they were seeing a 78 to 90 percent efficacy rate against the variants, especially the U.K. variant.

“I think businesses need more time to get where they want to,” said Finley. “I spent three hours with business owners yesterday and all three of them are struggling with how to move forward.

“Most of them are continuing to mask, but they say people are already showing anger at having to do so. I think we all require having patience with businesses who continue to ask you to mask, and for those whose employees are still masked.

“No one is making you take off a mask, but there may still be places that will ask you to wear a mask for a while.

Madison County Commission Chairman Dale Strong reported on the policies at the courthouse.

“Jury trials are full steam ahead,” he said. “They have had some setbacks in some processes like selecting a jury pool in which 150 people are brought in and 14 will be picked to sit in the jury boxes. The courtrooms are not set up for social distancing, and among jurors, masks will be required in the courtroom and recommended in the courthouse.”

He said there is still a lot to be done.

“We have weathered the storm as well as any county in the state and it is with great respect for hospitals, emergency management and the Mayor’s offices and law enforcement to get the facts out to the people,” Strong said. “If you give them the data, they can make the best decisions for their circumstances.

“We are still taking it day-to-day, but all businesses including churches are watching and monitoring the situation.”

The Chamber of Commerce has created signs that businesses can use: “We Ask that You Mask”. It is available on the Chamber’s website to download and print.

“I know people are tired of it,” said Chamber CEO Chip Cherry. “They want to go back to holding events, they want to go to crowded sports venues. But we are so close. We have this last little bit to go and if we continue to look at the value of masking and social distancing in these last days, everyone will benefit.”