As the state’s mandatory face mask order ended Friday, Jefferson County Health Officer Dr. Mark Wilson urged residents to continue using masks and get the COVID-19 vaccine.

“I am joining with Gov. Kay Ivey and state Health officer Dr. Scott Harris to encourage the use of masks,” he said.

In his Annual Public Health Address for Jefferson County, Wilson timelined his department’s work last year with other agencies, including UAB and local governmental officials, to staunch the flood of COVID cases.

About 1,500 people died from COVID in the county last year and more than 10,000 in Alabama, said Dr. Michael Saag, who heads UAB’s Infectious Disease Division.

Saag introduced Wilson, noting that he has received the state’s 2021 Albert Schweitzer Fellowship Award for his work during the pandemic.

Wilson was among the first to issue quarantine, social distancing and mandatory face mask orders after the virus first started to spread in the state.

Now, with the recent increase in cases in several states, higher rates among younger adults and spread of virus variants, Wilson said he fears an increase in hospitalizations in the county and state won’t be far behind.

“It can still happen here,” he said.

He likened his department’s response to the COVID threat last year to “total war,” with his workers taking on many duties to lessen the threat. That work included contact tracing and reaching out in numerous languages to get residents tested for the virus.

He said the Health Department remains in a unified command with the Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency to combat the virus.

As part of his review of 2020, Wilson said there were no virus outbreaks in schools. He said that primarily was because of the mask requirements and a close working relationship between his department and school superintendents and personnel.

“We did have outbreaks of COVID among school students. But they were mostly associated with extracurricular activities or team sports,” he said.

He said he knew in early March last year that Jefferson County was primed for COVID cases because of its access to interstates and its large population.

You can see his full address, delivered through Zoom, by going to Facebook and searching for “Jefferson County Health Department.”