Alabama Governor Kay Ivey has issued a directive for flags in the state to be flown at half-staff on Saturday in honor of the more than 10,000 Alabamians who have died from COVID-19.

Saturday, March 13, also marks one year since Alabama’s first confirmed case of the coronavirus was identified.

“On the one year anniversary of the first confirmed COVID-19 case in Alabama, I find it most appropriate that our state pauses to pay our respects to the thousands of lives lost to this horrible virus,” Ivey said in a statement.

“Over the course of the last year, Alabama, along with the rest of the nation and world, has been tested in ways we could have never imagined,” she continued.

According to BamaTracker, the state’s current death toll is 10,274.

The governor’s ordering of flags to half-staff comes hours after the Alabama Department of Public Health announced eligibility for the coronavirus vaccine will expand to include more than two million additional individuals beginning March 22.

Alabama looks to have given at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine to around 750,000 citizens before the one-year anniversary of its first case.

“Despite these unprecedented times, Alabamians have persevered together and are now edging closer to brighter days,” Ivey noted in a release.

Ivey also lowered flags earlier in 2021 to recognize the United States crossing the 500,000 deaths mark.

The governor concluded, “As we honor those we lost this past year, we lift up grieving loved ones in prayer, as well as those that are battling COVID-19 and the amazing folks that continue to fight on the frontlines.”

Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: [email protected] or on Twitter @HenryThornton95.