Virginia Martin

Almost 1,900 Alabamians Have Fallen to COVID-19. Who Were They?

Dr. Chaihan Korn. Phacethia Posey. Billy Ray Woods. Michael Woods.Robert Stewart. Clarence Shepherd. William Hershell Moon. Dave Thomas. Wayman Henry. We know the names of people who have died after contracting the coronavirus — when they’re celebrities or otherwise prominent. But we know very little about the nearly 1,900 Alabamians who have lost their lives due to the coronavirus and related illness during the pandemic. The confirmed numbers may not even be the complete totals. Only a handful of the residents of the state who have died in connection with the pandemic — including the Alabamians listed in the first paragraph — have been identified publicly. Until recently, most did not even know the name of the first person in Alabama to die after a COVID-19 diagnosis. She was Jenny McDonald, a Jackson County woman whose winning nature shone through her challenging life and who touched a community in unexpected ways. The basic overall information has been known. As of late last week, 41% of those who died were black and 53% were white, with the rest being of other races or their races were unknown. Almost 78% were 65 or older; more than 17% were between the ages of 50 and 64; more than 4% were between the ages of 25 and 49. The genders were almost evenly split, with 51% of victims being male and 49% female. Of 1,830 confirmed cases Sunday, all but 65 had preexisting conditions. But psychologist Josh Klapow said knowing something personal about the people who have died could help society as a whole grapple with the reality of this unprecedented viral outbreak that has upended life throughout the world. Read more. Read the first in a series of stories about Alabamians who have been lost to COVID-19:

The First Person Known to Die in Alabama After Contracting COVID-19 Never Let Her Disability Define Her

The First Person Known to Die in Alabama After Contracting COVID-19 Never Let Her Disability Define Her

STEVENSON – Chicken has been gone since March 23, and things have not been the same for those who knew her, worked with her, loved her. Read more. Her full name was Thelma Jenny McDonald. Most folks called her Jenny, but among family and close friends, she had been Chicken since she was small. Just why, it’s not clear now, but Chicken was a term of endearment. Now it’s a term of bereavement. Born and raised in the northeastern corner of Alabama, Jenny McDonald was the first Alabamian to die after testing positive for the coronavirus. Loved ones say she’d had the shivers and nausea, had been in need of fluids and her kidneys had not been working right. She was just 53, and she had been living with her sisters Nannie and Mary in the Milltown section of Stevenson, a Tennessee Valley town that stands on land where Cherokees once lived, where Union soldiers held sway for much of the Civil War, and where freight trains run regularly past the old downtown depot.

Face Masks Are Blunting the Pandemic, but Officials Warn the Threat Isn’t Over

COVID-19 positivity rates and the number of hospitalizations are declining here, but Jefferson County and UAB health officials warn safety precautions must remain in place. "Face coverings have made a difference," said Dr. Mark Wilson, Jefferson County Health Officer. He said mandatory facial coverings could be in place through the end of the year in an effort to combat the rise of COVID cases and to reduce the number of expected influenza cases. He urged everyone over the age of six months to get a flu shot as of Sept. 1. "I don't know what the state will do, but here in Jefferson County I plan to push for the wearing of face coverings through the end of the year," Wilson said. Read more.

College Entry Testing Shows Less Than 1% of Students Have COVID-19

A statewide program to test college students returning to campus has found a COVID positivity rate of just 0.83% of the 30,000 students tested over the past 10 days. The massive program, GuideSafe, is spearheaded by UAB and partners. It eventually will test about 200,000 students at 50 state colleges and universities. Dr. Mike Saag, director of UAB's Division of Infectious Diseases, warned that the numbers can vary 10% to 15% as student testing continues at the 13 test sites. "Part of our mission is to watch the campuses over time to keep them safe," Saag said. "We can target interventions based on what we learn from testing." Read more.

Alabama Chalks Up 695 New COVID-19 Cases

Alabama’s COVID-19 case count increased by just 695 Wednesday, continuing a decline that began more than two weeks ago. So far, 101,496 confirmed cases of the disease have been diagnosed in the state and 1,821 people have died, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health’s update Thursday morning. The department counts another 4,061 reports and 69 deaths as probable cases of the coronavirus. Read more.

Alabama Death Rates Near Highs, but New Case Rates Continue Falling

It’s been said by health officials numerous times since the COVID-19 pandemic began that the rate of deaths is a lagging indicator compared to the rate of increase in new cases. That assertion is proving true at the moment, as the moving averages of daily deaths in Alabama attributed to the virus are near record highs, while the averages of new positive tests continue to fall for the third straight week. Those trends come as the state passed the 100,000 mark in total COVID-19 cases on Wednesday. In BirminghamWatch’s weekly analysis of data reported by the Alabama Department of Public Health, the 7-day moving average of new COVID-19 cases stood at 1,289.29 per day. That’s down by more than 168 cases from the previous week and almost 563 lower than the record high on July 19. The longer-term 14-day average is at 1,373.5, down by 152 from the week before. The percentage increase in the number of new positives was up by an average of 1.33% per day over the past seven days, down from a peak of 3.18% on July 15. For Tuesday and Wednesday, the daily increase was below 1%. Read more.

This Year’s Sidewalk Film Festival Becomes a Drive-In

Chloe Cook had a big decision. She’s the executive director of the Sidewalk Film Festival. The annual event normally brings thousands of people to downtown Birmingham each August who venue-hop over a weekend from the Carver Theatre in the Birmingham Civil Rights District to auditoriums at the Alabama School of Fine Arts. But a crowded

Virtually or Physically, the First School Systems Start Opening Under the Shadow of COVID-19

Students in the Birmingham area are starting to get back to their studies this week as schools slowly begin to reopen. This week through Sept. 8, schools will be kicking off what is bound to be an unusual school year. While all schools will be offering virtual learning programs, some are allowing students to go to class in person and others are offering blended programs of virtual and in-person learning. Fairfield City Schools was one of the earliest systems in the area to reconvene, on Monday. The system is having orientation this week, laying the groundwork for instruction to commence. Parents and students are going to schools to receive schedules, syllabi and, in some cases, devices for online learning. Read more.

Gonsoulin Responds to Parents Critical of JefCoEd Move to Hold School Virtually

Jefferson County Schools Superintendent Walter Gonsoulin announced last week that his system would begin the new school year with virtual online learning for the first nine weeks because of concerns over COVID-19, after parents in a survey voted 56% to 44% in favor of that method. Since then, many in the 44% have been letting Gonsoulin know about their displeasure with the decision, and the superintendent responded to those complaints at the beginning of a called special board of education meeting Tuesday morning. “My stance on that is that we serve everyone, those who agree and those who disagree,” Gonsoulin said. “The safety and well-being of our more than 35,000 students and more than 4,500 staff members is paramount.” Read more.

Birmingham Council OKs Al Fresco Dining as Hail Mary for Restaurants

Birmingham restaurants will now be able to use sidewalks and parking spaces for outdoor dining, the City Council decided Tuesday. The decision, described by District 2 Councilor Hunter Williams as a “Hail Mary from the mayor’s staff,” is intended to give restaurants greater seating capacity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more.