Glenn Stephens

COVID-19 Count Surges by Record Daily Increase of 2,164 Cases in Alabama

With four counties accounting for 41% of the growth, Alabama on Thursday recorded by far its biggest increase in the number of COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began in March. There were 2,164 new cases of the disease during the latest 24-hour period, the Alabama Department of Public Health's COVID Dashboard showed. That was up from 1,161 on Wednesday and eclipsed the previous record of 1,758 on June 29. The overall total now stands at 48,588 cases, plus 522 listed as probably resulting from the coronavirus but not yet confirmed. There were 10 deaths during the period, raising the overall total for the pandemic to 1,042, plus 26 cases listed as probably from the disease. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Another Rise in COVID-19 Cases and Deaths in Alabama Reported Wednesday

The number of new COVID-19 cases and deaths in Alabama rose again Wednesday, led by the Birmingham area. There were 1,161 confirmed new cases of the disease, along with 25 deaths, during the 24-hour period reported by the Alabama Department of Public Health on Wednesday morning. Another 522 cases and 26 deaths are listed as probably from COVID-19 but still under study. The state has recorded 46,464 confirmed cases and 1,032 deaths since the pandemic began in March. Jefferson County reported 201 new cases and sixth deaths, bringing its totals to 5,687 cases and 161 deaths. Shelby County added 57 cases for a total of 1,414, and its death toll remained 24. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Daughters of Confederacy Put Up Statues, Indoctrinated Generations, Historians Say

The Alabama Legislature adjourned in 1900 so the United Daughters of the Confederacy could convene its national convention in the state Capitol. The women sat just steps away from the spot where Confederate President Jefferson Davis took the oath of office 39 years before. “You stand before the world the living witness that the past is not dead, but all in it that was good and great and true still lives and has its worshipers,” Marielou Armstrong Cory told the UDC in her opening address. “To you the selfsame welcome of the heart goes out as went that day to Jefferson Davis, the martyr chieftain of our sacred cause.” That sacred cause — or Lost Cause — is a legacy of the UDC that critics say amounts to whitewashing the history of a slave-owning South. Today, hundreds of UDC Confederate monuments are under attack as Black Lives Matter activists target them in protests against the killings of unarmed black men by white police officers. While monuments endure until a mob or mechanized crane removes them, historians and academics say the UDC holds a more lasting and insidious influence over generations of minds in the South. Read more.

by Scott Morris

Alabama’s COVID-19 Death Toll Tops the 1,000 Mark

Alabama recorded a drop in the number of new COVID-19 cases for the second consecutive day on Tuesday, the state Department of Public Health reported. But there were 23 deaths reported in the report for the past 24 hours, pushing the death toll since the pandemic began to 1,007. The 24-hour total was the most deaths reported since there were 25 on June 24. The had been one death reported on Saturday, and none on Sunday and Monday. The new figures pushed the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 t0o 45,263 since the pandemic began in March. Another 503 cases ad 23 deaths were listed as probably from the disease but not confirmed. The state had reported 1,091 cases on Sunday and 925 on Monday. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Number of New Cases of COVID-19 Down Slightly in Alabama; No New Deaths

Alabama recorded 925 new cases of COVID-19 but no new deaths in Monday's daily report by the state Department of Public Health. The 24-hour increase was down from the count of 1,091 on Sunday and 997 on Saturday, bringing the total number of cases since the pandemic began in March at 44,375, plus 503 listed as probably from the disease but not confirmed. The total number of deaths remained at 984 for the second consecutive day. Another 23 deaths are listed as probably from COVID-19 Jefferson County, which leads the state in number of cases and deaths, was the only county to report a triple-digit increase in the 24-hour report on Monday. The county had 189 new cases raising its total to 5410. Its death count remained at 152. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Number of Cases Increases Again but No New Deaths from COVID-19 in Alabama

Alabama recorded 1,091 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, the health officials reported no new deaths for the latest 24-hour period. The number of cases since the pandemic began in March rose to 43,450, but the death toll remained 984, according to the daily report on the Alabama Department of Public Health's COVID dashboard. The agency said another 503 cases and 23 deaths were listed as probably resulting from the disease but not yet confirmed. The state averaged 1,212 new cases a day for the past week and 989 a day for the past 14 days. The averages on Wednesday had been 979 cases per day over seven days and 823 daily over 14 days. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Number of New COVID-19 Cases in Alabama Drops on Saturday

The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Alabama grew by 997 on Saturday, down significantly from the previous day but still  the fifth-highest 24-hour total of the pandemic. After reporting a record 1,758 new cases on Friday, the Alabama Department of Public Health's covid dashboard showed a big drop on Saturday. The overall total since the pandemic began stood at 42,359, plus 503 cases listed as probably resulting from the disease but not yet confirmed. The dashboard listed one new death, in Bullock County, to bring the overall total to 984, plus 23 probable ones. That was down from 22 deaths in Friday's report. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Alabama Records Its Biggest Rise in COVID-19 Cases with 1,758 Jump

Led by the Birmingham, Huntsville and Mobile areas, Alabama experienced its worst day yet in the spread of COVID-19, the state Department of Public Health reported Friday. The agency's COVID dashboard showed 1,758 new confirmed cases of the disease in its 24-hour report. That brought the total to 41,362 since the pandemic began in March. Another 507 cases were listed as probably from the virus, but not yet confirmed. The number of deaths rose by 22 for a total of 983, plus 24 that are probably from the disease but still under study. The daily figures reflected a dramatic increase in the growth of COVID-19. Statistics this week showed an average daily increase of 974 cases for the seven-day period thorugh Wednesday and an average increase of 823 a day for the 14-day period. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

COVID-19 Cases Soar by 1,162 in Alabama During 24-hour Period

Alabama recorded one of its biggest increases yet in cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, with 1,162 confirmed new cases raising the state's total to 39,604. There were 14 deaths listed on the Alabama Department of Public Health's daily dashboard, pushing the total to 961 since the pandemic began in mid-March. The agency said another 507 cases and 24 deaths probably are from the disease, but are still under review. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

‘I Can’t Breathe’: Connecting the Green and Black Movements

In the few weeks since the death of George Floyd, environmental advocacy groups have been checking their mission statements and action plans for any hints of racial insensitivity and to examine how best to support movements such as Black Lives Matter and unite against injustice in environment and race. The phrase “I can’t breathe” is the link that joins the environment and the racial justice movements. That was George Floyd’s and Eric Garner’s plea and also the cry of people of color whose health problems are associated with air pollution and other toxicities that disproportionally surround their lives. Garner, after all, lived in a neighborhood that received an F grade from the American Lung Association’s 2018 State of the Air report.  In the wake of Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis, several nonprofit environmental organizations were quick to issue strong statements opposing police brutality and promise a period of self-reflection and rededication to principles of diversity and racial equity. Read more.

by Hank Black