Glenn Stephens

1,038 New Cases of COVID-19 Reported in Alabama in Saturday Update

Alabama recorded 1,038 confirmed new cases of COVID-19 in Saturday's update by the state Department of Public Health. The daily total was the highest this week, although the numbers often are subject to revision. It brought the number of confirmed cases of the disease in Alabama to 120,327, plus 11,626 cases listed as probably from the coronavirus. The Health Department's COVID-19 Dashboard showed seven deaths for the most recent 24-hour period. The overall total since the pandemic began in March now stands at 2,151, with another 124 deaths listed as probable. a href=" https://birminghamwatch.org/1038-new-cases-covid-19-reported-alabama-saturday-update/ "> Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

COVID-19 Case Count Rises by 688, With 24 Deaths

There were 688 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 24 deaths from the disease in Friday's daily count, the Alabama Department of Public Health reported. The figures brought to number of confirmed cases in the state to 119,289 and the number of deaths to 2,144 since the pandemic began in March. Another 11,104 cases and 122 deaths are listed as probably from the coronavirus. There was confusion surrounding the department's update Friday. The COVID-19 Dashboard initially showed an increase of 11,792 confirmed cases and 137 confirmed deaths for the day. The totals were updated later in the morning, without an immediate explanation, to indicate 688 new cases and 24 deaths.  Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

COVID-19 Disrupting High School Football, With Games Being Canceled, Forfeited

The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting high school football in Alabama, as numerous teams were forced to forfeit games last weekend, and more than a dozen games have been canceled this weekend. The Alabama High School Athletic Association had 29 games result in forfeits during the second weekend of the 2020 season. By rule, a forfeit results in a 1-0 loss for the forfeiting team. Thirteen games scheduled for this weekend have been canceled so far. Read more.

by Robert Carter

Alabama’s New Prisons Planned For Bibb, Elmore and Escambia Counties

Alabama officials announced Thursday the location of three new regional prisons planned for Bibb, Elmore and Escambia counties. In a statement, Governor Kay Ivey’s office said the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) will now enter into negotiations with two private developer teams who will build the facilities and lease them to the state. ADOC will still operate and staff the prisons, but the private developers will be responsible for long-term maintenance. Officials said they will announce financial details of the project in late 2020, after final negotiations. The new prisons will replace several existing male facilities, which are chronically overcrowded, understaffed and violent. ADOC is currently under a court order to improve conditions and hire roughly 2000 correctional officers. It is also in negotiations with the US Department of Justice to address violence among both inmates and staff. Read more.

by Mary Scott Hodgin, WBHM

Health Department Reports 381 Cases of COVID-19 in Thursday Report

The Alabama Department of Public Health reported 381 new cases of COVID-19 in Thursday's daily update. That brought the total number of cases since the pandemic began in March to 118,601, plus 10,684 classified as probably from the disease. The agency listed six deaths to raise the state's total to 2,120, with an additional 113 listed as probably from the coronavirus. The 381 count would be well below the average of 829 cases a day over the past week if the number remains unchanged. ADPH, however, has substantially revised the daily figures listed on its COVID Dashboard on several occasions lately, citing either technical issues or issues in the timing of the reporting. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

COVID-19 Case Count Rises by 86, But Numbers Are Skewed by Timing of Reports

The Alabama Department of Public Health reported 86 new cases of COVID-19 in the state Wednesday, but the agency said the number was artifically low because of the timing of its posting of the numbers. The report brought the state's total number of confirmed cases to 118,220. The state had reported 982 new confirmed cases on Tuesday, but ADPH said in an email that some of the cases that normally would have gone into Wednesday's update were included in the previous day's listing. The agency also said a total of 10,019 cases are listed as probably being from COVID-19. It said on Twitter that, in accordance with case definitions of the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, the department is now listing persons with positive antigen tests as probable cases of COVID-19. "Thus, the Alabama Department of Public Health expects to see more probable cases with increasing use of another laboratory method to detect SARS-CoV-2," the Tweet explained. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Board of Education President Criticizes Woodfin’s Plan to Cut Funding for Birmingham Schools

Though she insisted that she was “absolutely not here in my professional capacity,” Birmingham School Board President Daagye Hendricks addressed the Birmingham City Council on Tuesday, calling Mayor Randall Woodfin’s proposed FY 2021 budget “egregious” for cutting funding to city schools. This year’s city budget is nearly $50 million smaller than last year’s budget, thanks to a sharp decline in the city’s business tax revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the $412 million budget’s many proposed austerity measures — which include funding cuts for external organizations and furloughs for hundreds of city employees — is a reduction of $1 million in city funding to Birmingham City Schools. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Alabama’s Daily COVID-19 Count Rises to 982 in Tuesday’s Report

Alabama added 982 new cases of COVID-19, as well as 19 deaths, in Tuesday's report by the state Department of Public Health. There have been 118,134 confirmed cases of the disease and 2,102 deaths from it since the pandemic began in March. An additional 9,482 cases and 98 deaths are listed as probably associated with the coronavirus. The report covering the latest 24-hour period showed an increase of 286 new cases from Monday's total of 696. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

696 Cases of COVID-19 Reported in Monday Update

There were 696 new cases of COVID-19 in Alabama and 16 deaths from the disease, the state Department of Public Health reported in its daily update on Monday. That brought the statewide totals since the pandemic began in March to 117,152 confirmed cases and 2,083 deaths. In addition, the Health Department listed 8,906 cases and 99 deaths as probably associated with the coronavirus. Only Lee and Jefferson counties showed more than 100 new cases in the 24-hour report issued at 10 a.m. Monday. Jefferson County listed 141 cases, bringing its total to 15,872. Lee County, home of Auburn University, reported 101 cases for a total of 3,348. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Sunday Report Shows 1,172 New Cases of COVID-19 in Alabama

The Alabama Department of Public Health reported 1,172 new cases of COVID-19 and eight additional deaths in its daily update Sunday. That brought the state's totals to 116,456 confirmed cases and 2,067 deaths from the disease. The agency said an additional 8,779 cases and 95 deaths are listed as probably from the coronavirus. Among the state's 67 counties, the daily COVID-19 Dashboard list 143 new cases from Shelby County and 140 from Jefferson County. Those were the only counties with triple-digit increases for the latest 24-hour reporting period. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch