The Birmingham Times
Due to a growing concern over the spread of the coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, several events with an expected large attendance in Birmingham have been canceled. The Jefferson County Department of Health recommended Thursday that any event with 500 people or more be canceled.
Here are some are events that have been cancelled or postponed:
- The UNCF Mayor’s Masked Ball, set for March 14, has been postponed. A new date has not been announced yet.
- The 36th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade, set for March 14, has been postponed. A new date has not been announced yet.
- The NCAA Division II Track and Field and Women’s Basketball, set for the Birmingham CrossPlex, has been canceled for March 14.
- Birmingham City Schools will not host the Summer Fun & Learning Expo that had been scheduled for March 14.
- Birmingham Hammerfest for this weekend has been canceled.
- Southwest Athletic Conference basketball games at Bartow Arena for this weekend have been canceled.
- The Birmingham Botanical Gardens has canceled its March 21 Sakura/Cherry Blossom Festival.
- UniverSoul Circus, which was set for March 24-29 at Legion Field, has been postponed. Dates for future shows will be announced later. Promoters have said they will honor tickets that have been previously purchased.
- The Birmingham Public Library’s Partnership Community Health Fair with Dannon Project, which was scheduled for March 25 at Boutwell Auditorium, has been canceled.
- The Black Veils Concert, which was scheduled at Sloss Furnaces for March 26, has been postponed. A new date will be released at a later time.
- March concerts at the BJCC for Chris Stapleton and Cher have been canceled. Please go here to see a list of other canceled events at the BJCC.
- Baseball has delayed the start of the 2020 season which means the Birmingham Barons has delayed its season. They will release a date on when the season will start.
- The April 4 Hispanic Radio Festival at Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark has been canceled.
- The Birmingham Museum of Art will postpone its April 4 Holi: A Festival of Color and cancel its April 3 presentation of Art After 5.
- The Negro Southern League Museum’s Jackie Robinson Street Festival, scheduled for April 18, has been postponed. A new date will be released later.
- Arlington House’s April 19 Jazz in the Park has been cancelled.
- Arlington House has postponed its Homewood Belles Presentation Reception set for April 25 – 26.
BWWB
Until further notice, Birmingham Water Works is temporarily suspending collections on delinquent accounts to ensure all customers have access to clean water during coronavirus outbreak, the utility announced on Wednesday. Customers are still responsible for the consumption used over time and are urged to continue making payments on their account, a BWWB official said.
Jefferson County Courts
Jefferson County announced it will not hold jury trials in the Birmingham Division from March 30 through April 13 in an attempt to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Starting Monday, the Jefferson County court system said it would ban anyone from entering a county courtroom who has been to China, Japan, South Korea, Italy and Iran within the past 14 days. Those countries have been the hardest hit with the coronavirus, also known as COVID-19.
Other categories of people who will be barred from entering a Jefferson County courtroom are:
- People with close contact to people who have been to those five countries within the last two weeks
- People who have been asked to self-quarantine by a doctor, hospital or health agency
- People diagnosed or have been in contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19.
Jurors affected by the suspensions in the Birmingham Division were asked to contact court administration at 205-325-5063 or 205-325-5064. Birmingham Division grand jurors were asked to call the court clerk at 205-325-5355.
Jurors or grand jurors in the Bessemer Division were asked to contact the Bessemer deputy court clerk at 205-497-8510.
For coronavirus updates from the City of Birmingham, please visit www.birminghamal.gov/coronavirus.
Both the Centers for Disease and Control Prevention and the Alabama Department of Public Health have published guidance on the virus. Visit www.cdc.gov/coronavirus or www.alabamapublichealth.org for more information.
This list was updated at 9:32 p.m. on 3/13/20