Glenn Stephens

State Reports 1,783 New Cases of COVID-19 and 15 Deaths

There were 1,783 new cases of COVID-19 and 15 deaths from the disease in Alabama over the most recent 24-hour period, according to the state Department of Public Health's daily report on Friday. That raised the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in Alabama to 85,278 and the number of deaths to 1,531 since the pandemic began in mid-March. In addition, the COVID-Dashboard listed an additional 2,445 cases and 49 deaths as probably from COVID-19 but still under study. The state is averaging 1,654 new cases and 19 deaths a day over the past week, and 1,654 cases and 21 deaths daily for the past 14 days. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

New Drug Shows Promise for Treatment of Diabetes, UAB Researcher Says

After 30 years of research and the screening of 300,000 compounds, a new drug has shown promise in mice and larger animals to control blood glucose in Types I and II of diabetes, UAB announced Thursday. "Diabetes is a serious disease," said Dr. Anath Shaler, director of UAB's Comprehensive Diabetes Center. A Center for Disease Control report this year found 34.2 million Americans, or 1 in 10, have diabetes. "It is a major public health problem worldwide, with the South particularly hard hit over the years," Shaler said. "In fact, the prevalence of diabetes in adults in Alabama is over 15%, which is really huge," she added.  Read more.

by Virginia MacDonald

Signs of Hope: Alabama’s COVID-19 Data Starting to Steady

There are some optimistic observations in Alabama’s COVID-19 new-case rate, though it’s a bit early to know whether it is a full-blown trend. Figures through Wednesday show that, after peaking early in the week, the 7-day and 14-day moving averages have declined, and the daily percentage rate of increase in new cases has dipped below 2% for three of the past four days. The 7-day average percentage increase is now just above that mark, after peaking above 3% almost two weeks ago. In Birmingham Watch’s weekly analysis of data reported by the Alabama Department of Public Health, the 7-day moving average of new cases for the period ending July 29 stands at 1,594.14 per day, down by 147 cases from a week prior and by almost 257 from the peak set on July 19. The longer-term 14-day moving average is at 1,667.64, down from a high of last Saturday of 1,787.14. Read more.

by Robert Carter

COVID-19 Death Toll in Alabama Surpasses the 1,500 Mark

Alabama's death toll for COVID-19 climbed to 1,516 Thursday as the state Department of Public Health reported 27 deaths during the latest 24-hour period, including 12 in Jefferson County. Another 49 deaths are listed as probably being from the coronavirus, but still under study. The agency's daily update showed 1,923 confirmed new cases of the disease, pushing the total since the pandemic began in March to 83,495, plus 2,210 listed as probably from COVID-19. The daily total was the highest since 2,283 cases were reported on July 23. Alabama is averaging 1,543 cases and 23 deaths daily for the past week and 1,667 cases and 23 deaths a day over the past 14 days. The Birmingham, Mobile and Huntsville areas accounted for 40% of the new cases reported Thursday. Read more.

by Glenn Stephens

Textbook ‘Know Alabama’ Justified Slavery, Praised Confederacy to Schoolchildren

The year was 1961. As the Freedom Riders crossed the South in their fight for civil rights, schoolchildren in Alabama were reading about the bright side of slavery and the contributions of the Ku Klux Klan. They were taught these lessons from “Know Alabama,” the standard fourth-grade history textbook in the state’s public schools. The book informed baby boomers and Generation Xers from the mid-1950s through the 1970s. Some of those students became the teachers who taught subsequent generations. Both white and Black children were instructed from “Know Alabama” that plantation life was a joyous time and slaves were generally contented. They read that Confederates were brave heroes, and Reconstruction was a terrible time when carpetbaggers, scalawags and illiterate Blacks corrupted the state. Today, with factions across Alabama caught up in a clash over the meaning of Confederate monuments and symbols, many are debating the true history of the South. Is it the version that Black Lives Matter protesters shout in the public square or the story taught in Southern schools during and after the fight over segregation? Read more.

by Scott Morris

1,263 New Cases, 43 Deaths from COVID-19 Reported Wednesday

Alabama reported 1,263 new cases of COVID-19 and 43 deaths from the disease in Wednesday's daily update by the state Department of Public Health. The agency said an additional 2,075 individuals are believed to have the disease and another 45 are thought to have died of novel coronavirus. Those cases are under study. The figures for the latest 24-hour period brought the total number of confirmed cases since the pandemic began in March to 81,572, along with 1,489 deaths. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

COVID-19 Total Passes 80,000 in Alabama

There were 1,180 new COVID-19 cases in Alabama Tuesday, pushing the state's total to 80,309 since the pandemic began in March. The count was down from the 1,778 cases reported on Monday by the Alabama Department of Public Health. It also was below the averages of 1,605 per day over the past week and 1,705 daily over the last 14 days. The number of deaths during the pandemic remained at 1,446. Another 2,057 cases and 45 deaths were listed as probably from COIVD-19 but still under investigation. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

State’s COVID-19 Count Rises by 1,778 Cases and 18 Deaths in Monday Tally

The number of COVID-19 cases in Alabama grew by 1,778 and there were 18 more deaths, the Alabama Department of Public Health reported in its daily update Monday. There have been 79,129 confirmed cases of the disease and 1,446 deaths from it since the pandemic began in March. A total of 655,973 individuals have been tested statewide, and 12% of those have shown positive. Of that number, 1.8% have died. Alabama is averaging 1,631 new cases and 27 deaths a day for the past week and 1,740 cases and 25 deaths daily during the last 14 days. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Daily COVID-19 Count Drops to 1,037 New Cases in Sunday Report

The number of new cases of COVID-19 in Alabama dropped to its lowest daily total in almost three weeks on Sunday when the state Department of Public Health reported 1,037 cases. The count was below 1,000 for the first time since 888 cases were reported on July 7, and was well below the statewide averages of 1,641 cases a day over the past week and 1,746 daily in the last 14 days. The Health Department's COVID-19 Dashboard also saw a decline in the number of deaths, with 15 listed. That is below the average of 25 a day over the past seven days and 24 daily over the last two weeks. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Jefferson County Tops 10,000 Cases and Reaches 200 Deaths in COVID-19 Report

Jefferson County surpassed the 10,000 mark in new cases and reached 200 deaths from COVID-19 in Saturday's coronavirus report by the Alabama Department of Public Health. The state's most populous county recorded 286 confirmed new cases of the disease to raise its total to 10,095 since the pandemic began in March. The county reported three deaths to reach to 200 mark. The Health Department's report for the latest 24-hour period showed 1,949 new cases statewide, pushing the total to 76,314. There were 18 deaths for a total of 1,413. It said an additional 1,640 cases and 43 deaths are believed to have been from COVID-19 but are still under study. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch