State Sen. Randy Price, R-Opelika, has been intubated on a ventilator in his fight against COVD-19, his wife said Tuesday.
In a Facebook post, Oline Price updated friends, family and supporters of her husband’s condition and asked for continued prayers.
“Today, Randy was intubated to help him with his battle of Covid-19,” Oline Price, Lee County Revenue Commissioner, said. “This disease is one that I would not wish on anyone. I can not overstate the seriousness of this virus. It has tremendous negative effects on the human body. I encourage everyone to maintain social distancing, use hand sanitizer and continue to plead that everyone please wear a mask,” Oline Price wrote.
She herself had contracted COVID-19 earlier, The Opelika-Auburn News reported, but her symptoms were more mild.
Alabama Daily News reported last week that Sen. Price had been admitted to East Alabama Medical Center and was in the intensive care unit.
“This is something no one should have to watch a loved one go through and it is truly a pandemic,” Oline Price wrote Tuesday. “If anyone knows Randy personally, they know what a strong stubborn soul he is and how hard he is fighting this battle. Prayers for a cure for COVID-19 and to ALL of those that are battling this disease is what I ask for.”
She pleaded with the public to take the virus seriously and not let politics influence behavior.
“This is something no one should have to watch a loved one go through and it is truly a pandemic,” she wrote. “This is not a political issue. This is not a partisan issue. This is a human issue. We must do everything we can to slow the spread and work to eradicate this dangerous virus. Wearing a mask, social distancing, and employing vigorous hygiene is the only way we can be successful in protecting ourselves and others from this virus.”
[cmsmasters_html shortcode_id=”a2wz3stao”]PGlmcmFtZSBzcmM9Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmZhY2Vib29rLmNvbS9wbHVnaW5zL3Bvc3QucGhwP2hyZWY9aHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZ3d3cuZmFjZWJvb2suY29tJTJGUmFuZHlQcmljZWZvclNlbmF0ZSUyRnBvc3RzJTJGMzExNTU0OTI3ODQ4MDc5NiZ3aWR0aD01MDAiIHdpZHRoPSI1MDAiIGhlaWdodD0iMjg3IiBzdHlsZT0iYm9yZGVyOm5vbmU7b3ZlcmZsb3c6aGlkZGVuIiBzY3JvbGxpbmc9Im5vIiBmcmFtZWJvcmRlcj0iMCIgYWxsb3dUcmFuc3BhcmVuY3k9InRydWUiIGFsbG93PSJlbmNyeXB0ZWQtbWVkaWEiPjwvaWZyYW1lPg==[/cmsmasters_html]
Sen. Price, 62, was elected in 2018 in the district that includes portions of Lee County and all of Chambers, Clay, Randolph and Cleburne counties. He is a business owner and farmer.
As of Monday, 69,075 Alabamians had tested positive for COVID-19 since March, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health. Almost 22,900 of those cases have been confirmed in the last two weeks. The state is now under a mandatory mask order that expires at the end of the month.