Author: Caroline Beck (Caroline Beck)

Gov. Kay Ivey on Friday ordered Alabama residents to stay home except for essential needs, imploring citizens to take the new coronavirus seriously and distance themselves from others.

As cases of COVID-19 continue to rise in the U.S. and new information is released about the virus every day, it has caused a lot of uncertainty on how pregnant and birthing women are meant to proceed.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham released a COVID-19 symptom tracker on Wednesday that is meant to identify hot spots of where the virus is spreading in the state, especially in rural areas.

Gov. Kay Ivey awarded 20 broadband expansion grants totaling more than $9.5 million to provide high-speed Internet access to various communities across Alabama.

A payday lender in Jefferson County said he’s seen a recent decrease in the short-term loans taken out by Alabamians, but advocates for more regulation on that industry are worried more people will turn to loans as businesses remain closed.

As of this weekend, non-essential businesses throughout the state were ordered to close their doors through April 17 in an effort to stop the spread of the new coronavirus.

Domestic abuse crisis calls are increasing in Alabama and some police departments report slight decreases in other criminal activity as people are told to stay at home to slow down the spread of COVID-19.

Gov. Kay Ivey said on Tuesday that she has no plans as of now to issue a shelter-in-place order for the state to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. Meanwhile, Alabama's most populated city has issued just such an order for its residents.

Banks will remain open in Alabama while more business temporary close their doors and more social distancing measures are put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Gov. Kay Ivey on Thursday prohibited any gatherings involving 25 or more people, closed Alabama's beaches and child care facilities, prohibited on-site dining in restaurants and canceled non-emergency medical procedures.