Updated with statement from ADPH

The number of COVID-19 deaths in Alabama soared past the 4,000 mark on Wednesday as the daily count of new cases and hospitalizations reached record levels.

The Alabama Department of Public Health’s daily update added 49 deaths to bring the total to 4,034 since the pandemic began in March.

There were 4,735 new cases of the coronavirus in Thursday’s report, but ADPH said about 10% of those were from labs that were late in reporting results of tests from Oct. 5 to Dec. 7. The resulting total of about 4,261 new cases for the day exceeded the previous record of 3,928 on Dec. 2. The state has recorded 284,922 cases.

The number of people in Alabama hospitals for the coronavirus climbed to a record 2,111 on Wednesday, up from 1,779 on Dec. 2.

UAB also set another record with 159 inpatients who have tested positive for COVID-19, up by 10 from Wednesday. The hospital was caring for 79 coronavirus patients on Thanksgiving Day, and the count has steadily risen since.

In Thursday’s report, including the backlog of about 474 older cases statewide, Jefferson County led the state with 763 newly reported cases, bringing its overall total to 38,794. The state’s most populous county also reported 15 deaths for a total of 548.

Tuscaloosa County had 260 cases, followed by Madison County, 231; Mobile County, 224; Shelby County, 207; Baldwin County, 201; Morgan County, 155; Montgomery County, 139; Etowah County, 130; Elmore and Lee counties, 113 each; Lauderdale County, 112; Blount County, 104; and Walker County, 103.

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