The city of Birmingham will require masks in the city limits more than a month beyond the state requirement that is set to end April 9.

The Birmingham City Council Tuesday passed a citywide mask mandate that will run at least through May 24 but can be extended.

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said the move was necessary for the city because the majority of its citizens are not vaccinated against COVID-19 and the pandemic is not ending with the expiration of the state’s order.

“It is all under the lens of saving lives,” Woodfin said. “We will continue to make decisions that we believe will save lives. They may not be popular. People may not be excited about it. I’ll be honest with you, I’m not excited about it. There is nothing about me that wants to continue to wear the mask. But I will continue to do my part if, in exchange, more lives are saved.”

The city of Birmingham implemented its own mask mandate May 1, 2020, two months ahead of the statewide order that went into effect in July.

Woodfin praised the city council and Gov. Kay Ivey for implementing protections during the pandemic but said the need for those protections won’t end April 9.

“Everybody should know a global health pandemic still exists,” Woodfin said.

He noted that people are still catching COVID-19, getting hospitalized and still dying, though all of those figures are on the decline in Alabama since vaccinations have become more widely available.

Even with the expiration of the state order, Ivey and the Alabama Department of Public Health have said businesses can continue to require employees and customers to wear masks. Many national retailers and restaurant chains have indicated they will continue to require masking and social distancing.

Woodfin said businesses have indicated they would like the city to have its own order.

“I have spoken to many small business owners throughout this city and the majority of them have come to me voluntarily – via text, email, seeing me in person – and were adamant about the city and wanted to encourage the city to please do our own ordinance,” he said.

The City of Birmingham has voted to extend citywide mask ordinance through May 24th. “We will continue to make decisions to save lives,” Mayor Woodfin said. pic.twitter.com/tMoXTzAN96

— City of Birmingham (@cityofbhamal) April 6, 2021

While that may be the case within the city limits, a survey by the Birmingham Business Alliance, whose members and investor businesses are in the seven-county Birmingham metro area, found that businesses are pretty evenly split on wanting to see the masking requirements continue.

In the survey, 51% said they would not require employees to continue wearing masks after April 9 while 60% said they would not require customers to wear masks after the state order expires. The survey was conducted prior to Birmingham’s decision to extend its ordinance.

More than two-thirds anticipate the potential for negative reactions from customers if they continue to require masks (31% “yes” and 38% “maybe” compared with 31% “no”). The split was similar when those surveyed were asked whether continuing a public health order would be harmful to business (39% “not sure” and 28% “harmful” compared to 34% “helpful”).

“Lifting or continuing the mask requirement is a tough decision for our state and local elected officials and we understand the gravity of those decisions,” said Ron Kitchens, CEO of the Birmingham Business Alliance. “Our local businesses and service providers feel the weight of those decisions, too, and have provided great input that we’ll continue to share with our public and elected leaders through our public policy efforts.”

More than 300 businesses participated in the survey.

Woodfin said the fight against the pandemic is nearing an end but must continue.

“This is a football town. We like football analogies. We are in the fourth quarter of this global health pandemic. It is not over,” Woodfin said. “So, we still are in the game, we’re still in this fight. One of the ways to continue to win this fight is to continue to wear face masks.”