Glenn Stephens

ADPH in Ongoing Battle to Make Sure COVID-19 Test Reports Are Clear, Timely

Elected officials, business leaders, school systems and news media — among others — keep a close eye on the numbers of Alabama COVID-19 cases every day, with a wary watch on trends the data might indicate. When those numbers suddenly spike on a single day, as they sometimes have in the past couple of weeks, many people may scratch their heads in confusion or fear. The explanation in almost all cases is one of bureaucracy. In not-so-technical terms, it’s a “data dump.” The great majority of results of tests given by hospitals and county health departments, and those processed in larger quantities by laboratories, go through the system swiftly and almost untouched by human hands. But with the onset of the pandemic, there are many medical establishments that have conducted public COVID-19 testing but weren’t aware that they were required to report all test results to the state. When ADPH discovers these entities, it requires them to report all their testing, sometimes resulting in the addition of hundreds of cases from past weeks. Read more.

by Robert Carter

Alabama’s COVID-19 Case Total Climbs Past 200,000

Alabama eclipsed another milestone Friday when the number of COVID-19 cases climbed above the 200,000 mark. The Alabama Department of Public Health reported 1,556 new cases of the disease in its daily update, pushing the total number of cases since the pandemic began in March to 200,714. There have been 170,446 confirmed cases and 30,268 listed as probable. The agency added 23 deaths statewide, raising the overall total to 3,049: 2,839 confirmed and 210 probable. The average number of new cases per day has risen steadily over the past month. The state averaged 1,325 new cases a day for the week that ended Thursday, compared to 1,200 a day for the seven days through Oct. 31. One month ago, the average was 989 a day. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Big Turnout But No Major Problems at Jefferson County Precincts

Horizon Church in Vestavia Hills saw a flood of voters descend Tuesday on its Columbiana Road location. But that wasn’t the only flood that precinct experienced. “Horizon Church had their bathroom back up right early in the morning, and there was flooding in the hallway,” Jefferson County Probate Judge James P. Naftel II recalled. “We had to work with the county to get Port-O-Lets out there for those voters.” Which, the judge said, was easier said than done. “You don't just snap your fingers and Port-O-Lets appear,” he said. “It took a few hours, and people were waiting outside, and sometimes they have kids. “People had to endure a little bit more than normal on this one (election) but they rose to the occasion as they always do,” Naftel said. “I was overall relieved that things went as smoothly as they did.” Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Alabama’s COVID-19 Death Count Tops 3,000 Mark

Alabama's death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic climbed above the 3,000 mark in Wednesday's update by the state Department of Public Health. The agency reported 19 deaths in its daily report, pushing the total since the pandemic began in mid-March to 3,006. That includes 2,799 confirmed cases and 207 listed as probable. The total number of cases grew by 1,848 during the latest 24-hour period, reaching a total of 197,777. There have been 168,155 confirmed cases and 29,662 shown as probable. A spokesman for the Health Department said the daily figure was for the latest 24-hour period and did not include reports from previous days. It was the largest increase in single-day cases in more than a month. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Trump Sweeps Alabama, Tuberville Ousts Jones for Senate Seat

Donald J. Trump was in a close reelection fight Tuesday night, but it was not close in the Heart of Dixie. Trump won Alabama overwhelmingly over Democrat Joe Biden, just as he did in 2016 when he defeated Hillary Clinton. And keeping with their strong preference for Republican candidates, Alabama voters chose former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville, a political newcomer whose campaign was largely based on his loyalty to Trump, to replace Democratic incumbent Doug Jones in the U.S. Senate. Unofficial returns from all 67 counties this morning showed Trump leading Biden by about 62% to 36% in Alabama. Almost as soon as polling places around the state closed, The Associated Press declared Trump the winner, and thus he will win the state’s nine electoral votes, just as he did in 2016 when he won 63% of the votes against Democratic nominee Clinton. Tuberville, meanwhile, was leading Jones by a margin of about 60% to 39%, though Jones was ahead by 58% to 41% in the state’s most populous county of Jefferson and by an even bigger margin in Montgomery County. Read more.

by Tom Gordon

Alabama Students in Fourth and Eighth Grades Score Below National Averages in Math, Reading

When the National Report Card, an assessment of educational progress, came out for 2019, the results were not great for Alabama. Alabama students in fourth and eighth grades lag behind the country in the overall reading and math scores. Worse, average reading scores for Alabama students actually went down from where they were the last time the assessment was done -- just two years earlier. And race and ethnic gaps remain evident in the scores, with white students scoring close to the national average in reading and math, followed by Hispanic and black students, in that order. Read more.

by Nick Patterson

COVID-19 Cases Continue Steady Growth, with 1,699 New Cases in Saturday Report

The number of COVID-19 cases in Alabama continued a steady climb on Saturday as the state Department of Public Health reported 1,699 new cases and 35 deaths from the disease. It was the greatest number of new cases reported in a single day in more than a month, pushing Alabama's total to 192,285 cases since the pandemic began in March. The department added 1,789 cases to the overall count in Saturday's report but said 90 of those came from a lab in Covington County for the period of Aug. 6 to Oct. 27. There have been 164,295 confirmed cases and 27,990 listed as probable. Alabama's death count for the pandemic reached 2,967, including 2,761 confirmed and 206 probable. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Jones Tells Supporters He Can Beat Tuberville, Despite What Polls Say

Sen. Doug Jones visited his hometown of Fairfield on Saturday afternoon, one of many stops throughout Alabama during the final days of his re-election campaign. Standing in the parking lot of Urban Smoke Bar & Grill and flanked by his wife Louise, son Carson and U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, Jones told supporters to disregard polls that show him trailing his opponent, former Auburn football head coach Tommy Tuberville. “We know better,” he said, urging his supporters to “remember the feeling” of his previous victory against Roy Moore in December 2017, which had also been a surprise. Jones argued he could pull off the same surprise in Tuesday’s election. He said his campaign’s internal polling data “is right where we want it.” Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Health Experts Warn Alabama May See Another COVID-19 Surge; Fauci Is Optimistic About A Vaccine

Health experts at the University of Alabama at Birmingham warn that Alabama could see another surge of COVID-19 in the coming weeks. This comes as the number of new daily cases in the state continues to tick upward. “Unfortunately, we’re now heading up towards higher levels [of COVID-19 caseloads] than we’ve ever seen before,” said Dr. Michael Saag, a UAB infectious disease doctor. “Positivity rates of tests in Alabama are almost up to 25% now. That means one in four tests are coming back positive.” Saag said this indicates widespread community spread. He said the goal is to have a positivity rate of less than 5%. Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, said that he predicts “with some degree of certainty” that in the next four to six weeks officials will have some answers to the question of vaccines. Read more.

by Miranda Fulmore, WBHM

Maria Fortune, 2020 election

Jefferson County District Court, Place 2 Maria Fortune Democrat Hometown: Vestavia Hills Political experience: Appointed to the Jefferson County District Court bench after Judge Shanta Owens left for the Circuit Court bench; currently presides over Drug Court in the Criminal Division. Professional experience: Started her career as a deputy public defender in Colorado before joining the Denver

by BirminghamWatch