City of Northport Urges Caution as COVID-19 Cases Rise

Northport Mayor Bobby Herndon stressed the importance of following social distancing guidelines and obeying mask ordinances during a video press conference Tuesday morning.

According to the Alabama Department of Public Health, Tuscaloosa County has reported 890 new COVID-19 cases in the last week alone. Herndon said the surge in cases is a direct result of the Thanksgiving holiday.

"You know we just got through with Thanksgiving and if you've noticed there's been a great spike in the number of cases since then," Herndon said. "That's gonna be directly related to families [and] friends getting together, not being as cautious as they should be, not being as aware as they should be. Of course, you know it is hard. Somebody like me I love to hug people, kids, grandkids, I got some coming in from out-of-state that we want to be around, but at this time I'm going to caution anybody to please be aware, please be safe."

The City of Tuscaloosa announced Monday that it will be taking precautions to slow the spread of COVID-19, and Herndon said Tuesday that Northport will also take new measures this week.

Northport Police Chief Gerald Burton, who said one NPD officer is absent this week with COVID-19, said that the department will suspend fingerprinting until further notice as area cases continue to climb.

Northport City Hall will still be open, but residents will not be able to go into different offices. Instead, a receptionist will contact the relevant municipal employee who will then work directly with the resident or visitor to address their needs.

"We all just need to be a little bit more mindful of each other, not knowing different immunity systems of people and how someone might be more at risk than you are," District 1 City Council Member Christy Bobo said. "It's still important to keep your mask on and wash your hands, simple things like that can help us stay out of going into another lockdown."

Watch the city's full address below.