Alabama, on Saturday, joined the list of states in the United States of America where residents were under a stay-at-home order in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Gov. Kay Ivey and state Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris announced that the order would be in place until April 30, with a determination before then on whether the order would be extended past that date, AL.com reported.
“We all have a duty to take this seriously,” the governor wrote in a Twitter message. “Wash your hands frequently, disinfect commonly used items often & practice social distancing.”
Ivey warned that that the state would likely see sharp rises in confirmed cases and deaths in the weeks ahead.
“Folks, April stands to be very tough, and potentially very deadly,” the governor said, according to AL.com. “You need to understand we are past urging people to stay at home. It is now the law.”
As of late Saturday, Alabama had more than 1,600 confirmed cases of coronavirus – also known as COVID-19 – and had seen at least 26 deaths, according to the state’s Department of Public Health, division of infectious diseases and outbreaks.
Ivey, a Republican, had faced some criticism in the state for not enacting a stay-at-home order sooner. On Friday she addressed those concerns.
“I tried to find the right balance, something that was measured without overreacting that looked after people’s health without choking out the life from commerce,” she said at a news conference Friday.
