COVID-19 Day of Remembrance planned
As the nation continues to battle COVID-19, Southern Seven Health Department is reflecting on the past year and the pandemic’s impact on the more than 60,000 residents who live in the lower seven counties of Illinois.
In honor of all lives affected by the pandemic, Southern Seven Health Department is coordinating a region-wide COVID-19 Day of Remembrance ceremony, which is planned at 2 p.m. on May 4.
May 4 will mark the one-year anniversary of the first COVID-19 death reported by Southern Seven. The individual was from Union County.
At that time, 64 positive cases of COVID-19 had been reported in the region.
The first case in the region served by Southern Seven Health Department was reported in Massac County on April 1, 2020.
As of April 20, 6,708 individuals in the region had tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic; of those, 100 had succumbed to the disease.
“Every life is important,” Southern Seven Health Department executive director Rhonda Andrews-Ray said in a news release announcing the upcoming COVID-19 Day of Remembrance on May 4.
“This special event will honor those that we love and have fallen due to COVID-19.”
Each Southern Seven county plans to have its own public ceremony or to participate in the ceremony which will be held at the health department’s administrative building in Ullin.
Southern Seven Health Department serves Union, Johnson, Pope, Hardin, Alexander, Pulaski and Massac counties.
Residents, as well as state and local officials, are being invited to attend a ceremony of their choice.
Southern Seven Health Department advised that location details for each county will be provided in the coming weeks.
Masking and social distancing will be observed to protect those in attendance.
In addition to a moment of silence for those lost due to the pandemic, each county will sign a proclamation to declare May 4 as COVID-19 Day of Remembrance.
While many in the region have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Southern Seven Health Department continues to stress the importance of continued masking and following all CDC recommended safety measures to stop the spread.
Beginning April 12, all Illinois residents and workers, age 18 and older, became eligible to receive a vaccine in any Southern Seven county.
Vaccinations are available by walk-in or by scheduled appointments. Weekly schedules are posted on the department’s Facebook page and at southern7.org.
For more information regarding Southern Seven Health Department’s COVID-19 Day of Remembrance call 618-634-2297 or visit Southern Seven on Facebook and Twitter.