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Alabama recorded one of its worst days yet for the pandemic on Wednesday as the state Department of Public Health reported almost 4,000 new cases of COVID-19 and 73 deaths from the disease. The agency said the number of people hospitalized with the coronavirus rose to its highest level to date.

The agency listed 3,928 cases, but it said 706 of those were from the period of Nov. 23 to Nov. 29. After subtracting the older cases, there were 3,222 new cases over the last 24 hours. That was just shy of the record 3,302 new cases reported for Nov. 30.

The state is averaging 2,501 new cases a day over the past week, the highest number on record.

The numbers were equally as grim for Jefferson County, with the ADPH reporting 689 new cases there.

The state report included 85 older cases in Jefferson County, from the period of Nov. 23-29, leaving a total of 604 new cases Wednesday, according to Dr. Wesley Willeford, medical director of disease control for the county.

“I expect these numbers to go up as we begin to see the full effect of the Thanksgiving Holiday,” Willeford said in a statement to BirminghamWatch. “It is critical that Jefferson County and Alabama residents work hard to wear facial coverings, maintain at least six feet of distance from people outside their households and avoid attending holiday gatherings.

“We are reaching a critical point in the pandemic, and we will see further increases in hospitalization and deaths,” he said. “Our community has to act now to avoid needless hospitalizations and deaths.”

There were 1,785 people in Alabama hospitals on Tuesday for treatment of COVID-19. The number of people hospitalized for the disease reached a peak of 1,613 on Aug. 6, then dropped to 726 by Sept. 26. It has been rising steadily since then, reaching 973 on Nov. 1; 1,484 a week ago, and 1,785 on Tuesday.

UAB reported 127 COVID-19 patients Wednesday morning, the most since the pandemic began.

The list of counties with numbers of cases, individuals tested and deaths.