Alabama as a whole is now classified as being at high risk of COVID transmission as cases skyrocket just days before Christmas.

On Thursday, 2,060 new COVID cases were reported, giving the state a 1,173 7-day average for new cases, more than triple the daily average at the start of the month.

Twenty-two more deaths were reported in the Alabama Department of Public Health’s Thursday update.

The state has a 12% positivity rate, meaning 12 of every 100 COVID tests returned positive results. That’s more than double the rate at the beginning of the month.

The increases come as the highly infectious omicron variant has become the dominant COVID strain across the U.S. Omicron’s ability to spread has been compared to measles, one of the most infectious agents known to man.

Studies so far are showing omicron often causes milder illness than the earlier strains of the disease, including delta. However, because it sickens more people, health officials worry that an influx of patients could overwhelm the health care system.

“I sadly don’t think we are going to escape this,” Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, director of the Division of Infectious Disease at UAB, said in a press conference Tuesday. “There’s really no way, and with about half of our population not being vaccinated, it’s really a very big concern for our health care system.”

ADPH reported that 433 were hospitalized with the disease as of Thursday.

However, Marrazzo said she did not forsee another lockdown. She said holiday travel and gatherings are a big concern, but she realizes that many people have not gathered with their families for two years and do not want to cancel their plans, despite the risk.

“If you want to get together with family this Christmas and into the new year, the best thing you can do is make sure you are as boosted as possible. If you have access to testing, test yourself before you go. … And then if you are going to be around people whose status you don’t know, please wear masks. Masks really work, but you’re going to need to wear good masks, better masks and less permeable masks to keep out something as infectious as the measles.”

She advised people to consider their own risk level and the groups they are meeting with when deciding what to do to protect themselves.

If you have elevated risk factors or are gathering with people who are not vaccinated or in poorly ventilated areas, wear an N95 mask, which fits tightly on the face. Or double mask – wearing a cloth mask over a surgical mask – if you don’t have an N95. The key is the density of the fabric and the fit on your face, Marrazzo said.

Jefferson County, which was moved into the high risk category earlier this week, took another big leap Thursday with 549 new COVID cases reported.

Jefferson County Health Officer Mark Wilson said Tuesday that new cases of COVID had “shot up” in the past week, when the county was experiencing between 30 and 40 new cases per day.

Shelby County also is in the high risk category, as are 38 of Alabama’s 67 counties. Only two counties are in the low risk category, Conecuh and Clarke.

Here is case data for each of the counties:

County of Residence              Total Cases           Total Deaths     7-Day % Change        7-Day % Positives       7-Day Case Rate

 

AUTAUGA				10746	160	69	15.6	126.5
BALDWIN				38690	593	96.4	13	95.9
BARBOUR				3730	81	125	5.5	36.6
BIBB				4410	95	0	6.3	63.2
BLOUNT				11031	197	-22	15.8	134.8
BULLOCK				1553	46	175	16.1	110.3
BUTLER				3498	102	-8.3	11.6	56.4
CALHOUN				22866	527	37.1	11.2	74.9
CHAMBERS				5899	147	56	19.5	118.7
CHEROKEE				3285	65	-12	13.1	83.7
CHILTON				7248	173	-31.8	12.9	67.6
CHOCTAW				968	30	700	0	64.4
CLARKE				4878	87	-80	3.4	8.6
CLAY				2567	69	90	10.9	144.9
CLEBURNE				2581	60	14.3	20	53.5
COFFEE				9552	195	25	8.2	84.5
COLBERT				9516	213	0	11.3	97.5
CONECUH				1949	62	-50	4.7	8.4
COOSA				1898	48	-46.2	8.2	65.7
COVINGTON				7063	199	-55.6	3	43.3
CRENSHAW				2649	79	28.6	7.4	65.8
CULLMAN				16591	308	-3.2	6.6	179.8
DALE				9179	194	26.2	11.4	108.3
DALLAS				5377	212	8.7	5.1	69.3
DEKALB				13300	276	-8.7	12.7	87.9
ELMORE				16312	296	37.6	14	142.4
ESCAMBIA				7005	148	-50	8.1	27.6
ETOWAH				20289	527	1.4	11.4	72.3
FAYETTE				3380	86	125	5.7	55.4
FRANKLIN				6472	110	9.7	12.7	107.9
GENEVA				4713	137	-61.1	6.4	26.5
GREENE				1322	45	350	6.1	112.6
HALE				3238	91	125	6.6	61.3
HENRY				3269	66	0	8.3	92.9
HOUSTON				18084	430	-6.1	8.1	87.3
JACKSON				10437	200	16.4	14.1	151.2
JEFFERSON				118779	2024	175.7	13.5	221.7
LAMAR				2572	57	-25	4.8	43.6
LAUDERDALE				15366	316	19	11	100.7
LAWRENCE				4934	134	23.8	13.8	79.1
LEE				26060	269	38.6	12.6	94.7
LIMESTONE				16538	228	47.8	11.7	130.1
LOWNDES				1798	68	125	10.7	93.4
MACON				2513	68	20	10.6	100.6
MADISON				54957	756	59.9	13.5	171
MARENGO				3445	93	175	7.1	58.7
MARION				5488	132	-22.2	3.2	47.1
MARSHALL				19153	321	-14.4	11.1	97.9
MOBILE				75227	1391	60.3	9.4	85
MONROE				3411	66	60	6	78.2
MONTGOMERY				35313	790	130.2	17	173.2
MORGAN				23026	423	8.8	12.4	144.3
PERRY				1426	41	100	1.6	23
PICKENS				3389	91	-37.5	10.3	50.5
PIKE				5206	111	-37.5	7.5	45.5
RANDOLPH				3452	67	88.9	19.5	148.3
RUSSELL				7222	66	-5.3	14.1	61.8
SHELBY				39294	379	129.4	14	201
ST. CLAIR				17289	365	9.4	13.3	127.8
SUMTER				1416	42	133.3	4.1	57.3
TALLADEGA				14504	306	11.3	12.9	111.3
TALLAPOOSA				7468	204	-41.7	7.5	122.1
TUSCALOOSA				36686	651	31.3	8.4	69.7
WALKER				12441	388	-30	6.6	99.8
WASHINGTON				2583	51	400	5.9	31.3
WILCOX				1803	38	-28.6	5.9	49
WINSTON				4866	112	0	6.9	119.1
	Cases: 863170	Deaths: 16402