Glenn Stephens

Hospitalizations for COVID-19 Rise to Record Levels

The spread of COVID-19 across Alabama has pushed the number of people in hospitals for the disease to another record, the state Department of Public Health reported Friday. The agency reported 3,853 new cases to raise the overall count to 288,775 since the pandemic began in March. The ADPH daily updated showed 52 deaths, for a total of 4,086. A record 2,170 people were in Alabama hospitals for the disease on Thursday, the most on a single day so far. That compares to 1,779 on Dec. 1. UAB on Thursday reported 159 COVID patients, the most ever. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Birmingham Officials Reject Defunding, Plan Police Reforms with Civilian Oversight, Social Workers and Attacking Crime from a Public Health Perspective

After several months of study and citizen input, the City of Birmingham announced Thursday that police reforms are underway -- some of which will go to effect shortly, others that will take years -- with the end goal of making law enforcement more transparent and responsive to the needs of the citizens. Highlighting a more than 100-page final report called “Reform and Reimagine Birmingham Public Safety,” city officials outlined steps to improve relations between the police and the public, improve training for police, make rules and regulations public, and ultimately increase accountability. The city’s Public Safety Task Force included a former U.S. attorney, a retired detective, an anti-police-brutality advocate, an attorney and the co-founder of Black Lives Matter Birmingham. But Mayor Randall Woodfin said the city will need the assistance of healthcare providers and citizens to make the reforms work over the long term. And he rejected calls to defund the police, saying that the most common request he hears from citizens is to beef up the department and put more officers on the job.  Read more.

by Nick Patterson

Alabama’s COVID-19 Death Toll Tops 4,000 Mark as Case Numbers Reach Record Level

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.  Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

COVID-19 Cases Up By 3,522, Deaths by 43

The COVID-19 toll in Alabama continued to climb with 3,522 new cases and 43 deaths in Wednesday's daily update by the state Department of Public Health. There have been 280,187 cases of the disease and 3,985 deaths since the pandemic began in March. The number of people in Alabama hospitals for the coronavirus reached another record level on Tuesday, with 2,097 across the state. That included a record 140 at UAB on Tuesday morning. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Alabama’s COVID-19 Count Reaches 276,665, Death Toll at 3,942

The Alabama Department of Public Health added 4,436 cases of COVID-19 to the state's total Tuesday, including a backlog of cases reported from last week. The increase included 2,925 for the past day and 1,511 that two labs were late in reporting for the period of Nov. 30 to Dec. 5. That brought the number of cases in Alabama since the start of the pandemic in March to 276,665. The average number of new cases per day has been 3,395 for the past week. The ADPH daily report also added 50 deaths, for a total of 3,942 over the course of the pandemic. The state is averaging 31 deaths a day over the past week. Read more.

by Glenn Stephens

COVID-19 Hospitalization Numbers Reach Record Highs for UAB and Alabama

The number of people in Alabama hospitals for COVID-19 has risen to a record high, the state Department of Public Health reported Monday. UAB Hospital also said its inpatient count for the disease was at an all-time high. There were 1,927 people in hospitals Sunday for treatment of the disease, ADPH reported in its daily update. The number had risen to a high of 1,613 on Aug.6 before declining to 703 on Sept. 25. It then began a steady rise that reached 1,731 one week ago and continued through the week UAB Hospital said it had 130 COVID-19 patients Monday morning. That broke the previous record of 129 on Saturday and Sunday, following a week of steadily rising numbers. Read more.

by Glenn Stephens

Daily Number of New COVID-19 Cases Drops Sunday to 2,288

Alabama's COVID-19 totals grew by 2,288 cases and 12 deaths in Sunday's report by the state Department of Public Health. That broke a string of five consecutive days for which the number of cases topped 3,000. The state has recorded 269,877 cases of COVID-19 and 3,889 deaths from the disease since the pandemic began in mid-March. The number of people being treated in Alabama hospitals for the coronavirus dropped slightly, from a record 1,875 on Friday to 1,867 on Saturday. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

North Alabama Counties Are Hotspots as State Records 3,390 Cases of COVID-19

With COVID-19 hotspots scattered across north Alabama, the state recorded 3,390 new cases of the disease and 46 deaths, the state Department of Public Health reported Saturday. It was the fifth consecutive day with more than 3,000 cases, pushing the totals for the pandemic to 267,390 cases and 3,877 deaths. Alabama is averaging 3,228 new cases a day over the past week, compared to 1,241 daily for the week ending Nov. 1. The number of people in Alabama hospitals for treatment of the coronavirus also stood at a record level -- 1,875 on Friday. That is up from 1,571 one week ago. Jackson County (Scottsboro), in the northeast corner of the state, recorded 104 new cases in Saturday's report, and it leads the state with 1,873 new cases per 100,000 residents over the past two weeks. Read more.

by Glenn Stephens

Alabama Health Officials Hope To Receive First COVID-19 Vaccines Friday

Public health officials say Alabama could receive its first delivery of coronavirus vaccines by the end of this week. Jefferson County Deputy Health Officer Dr. David Hicks on Friday said he expects vaccines from the drug company Pfizerto arrive on Friday, December 11. If the vaccine is granted Emergency Use Authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Alabama will receive about 41,000 doses. Those will be distributed at 16 vaccination sites at hospitals across the state, according to State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris. Frontline healthcare workers and some first responders will be given priority for the vaccine. Harris said that rural areas, like southwest Alabama, will not receive the Pfizer vaccine during the initial phase. This is mainly because rural hospitals can’t accommodate the vaccine’s cold-chain requirements: the vaccine must be kept at -112 F. Read more.

by Miranda Fulmore, WBHM

Surge in COVID-19 Cases from Thanksgiving Still to Come, UAB Doctor Says

The Thanksgiving holidays have passed and the leftover turkey remnants in the refrigerator have dwindled. But the after-effects of the holiday period are just now beginning when it comes to the COVID-19 virus, according to a top doctor with UAB. Dr. Sarah Nafziger, co-chair of the school’s emergency management committee and a professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine, says that UAB Hospital is already seeing a continuing increase in the number of coronavirus patients, pushing current limits. But even more cases are likely to come through the doors in the next couple of weeks, if past results are any indication. “We haven’t even begun to see those patients (from Thanksgiving) yet,” Nafziger said during a media teleconference Friday. “Those patients are not showing up at the hospital yet." Read more.

by Robert Carter