It’s official now. The number of daily new cases of COVID-19 in Alabama is back into the same range as it was in January, which was the height of the pandemic thus far.

In the Birmingham Watch periodic analysis of COVID data from the Alabama Department of Public Health, the total number of cases from the beginning of the outbreak last year stood at 619,752 through Wednesday. That’s an increase of 3,851 from Tuesday, and 23,936 new infections over the past seven days.

The 7-day moving average reached 3,419.43, the highest level since Jan. 15. It has climbed from a low of 121.0 five weeks ago, a 28-fold jump in that timeframe. The longer-term 14-day average crossed the 3,000-case threshold to stand at 3,020.64, which is 18½ times the lowest level from July.

The number of hospitalized COVID patients is also rising to alarming levels, resulting in a shortage of beds available for more routine procedures. Wednesday’s ADPH report showed 2,371 hospital beds across the state were occupied by COVID inpatients. That’s the highest number since Jan. 22, and a ninefold increase in a month’s time.

After staying relatively low during this latest surge, the number of deaths attributed to the virus has started to spike upward in earnest, as had been anticipated by health officials ever since case counts started their latest uptrend. On Wednesday, 41 new deaths were reported, bring the cumulative toll to 11,689. Wednesday was the highest daily count since mid-April. The 7-day moving average is now up to 18.29 — the highest since March 17.

Deaths count trends typically lag behind new cases by four to six weeks, and that pattern is holding during this surge. But the current numbers are still far below the averages above 150 per day that were seen in late January. Health professionals attribute the lower death toll to the use of vaccines, which were not widely available during the winter months, and which have been accepted in greater percentages by older Alabamians who are more vulnerable to dying from COVID.

The plea from health officials, politicians and celebrities for people to get their vaccine shots is finally showing some fruit. For the week that ended Saturday, 94,290 doses were administered, a total that was more than triple the number from the week ending a month prior, July 7. The percentage of the state’s population that has received the vaccine is up to 42.91%, with just under 49% of Jefferson County residents vaccinated.

In Jefferson County, 491 new COVID cases were counted over the week ending Tuesday, and the average stood at just over 70 per day. Two deaths were recorded over the week. To date, 89,403 cases and 1,606 deaths have been tallied in the county.

The southern part of Alabama continues to see the highest numbers per capita in new cases, deaths and particularly hospitalizations. Mobile County has already totaled 400 COVID inpatients in this surge, which is far more than the 276 who were hospitalized at the height of the winter surge. More than 5,000 new cases have been detected in the county over the last two weeks.

Ascension Providence Hospital has cancelled non-urgent surgeries in order to free up beds and staff. Mobile County Health Officer Dr. Bert Eichold told WKRG-TV News, “To give you an example, if someone arrives in an ambulance, they’re not able just to let the person out of the ambulance, because the hospital does not have the capacity to accept the person in the ambulance, so we’re making special accommodations in the city.”