Alabama marks third year of COVID-19

It’s been three years since COVID- 19 changed our lives as we know it here in Alabama.

That first case was reported in Montgomery County on March 13, 2020. It wasn’t long before the state health department urged the closing of all public schools, universities, and many businesses.

By August of 2020, Governor Kay Ivey declared an emergency “safer at home” order.

Chief Medical Officer at the Alabama Department of Public Health Dr. Karen Landers said it’s important not to forget this virus is still around, even though most Alabamians have resumed their pre-COVID lives.

“The virus we have today is not the virus we dealt with in 2020,” Landers said. “It is not that virus. It is a mutated version of that virus. So COVID is going to be with us. It is going to be endemic. We are going to continue to recommend preventative measures. We are still looking at what those measures are going to be.”

Dr. Landers said more than 1.5 million people in Alabama have had COVID at least once. There have been 21,000 deaths in our state.