Blount County COVID-19 Test Site Set Up for Wednesday
A one-day drive through COVID-19 testing clinic will be in operation Wednesday (April 22) in Blount County, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health. Read more.
Virginia Martin
COVID-19 Cases Hit 5,134 in Alabama
Alabama’s cases of COVID-19 stood at 5,134 today, with 175 deaths. The Alabama Department of Public Health has confirmed 144 of those deaths resulted from COVID-19 and is investigating the remainder of the cases, in which people who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 died. Read more.
Alabama Reports 5,008 Cases of COVID-19
Alabama’s cases of COVID-19 stood at 5,008 today, with 168 deaths. The Alabama Department of Public Health has confirmed 113 of those deaths resulted from COVID-19 and is investigating the remainder of the cases, in which people who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 died. Since the pandemic began, 641 people have been hospitalized with the disease. Read more.
Is Stay-in-Place Currently A Wise Policy For Alabama?
There's a tension between the social distancing measure to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and the economic cost that's causing. The Harvard Club of Birmingham took up that issue in a formal debate this week. Read more.
Working at the Car Wash
Vernecia Fletcher, a veteran manager at Washee Quickee, a car detailing and U-Haul rental business in Birmingham, says COVID-19 has helped U-Haul rentals but has slowed the car detailing side of the business and caused layoffs. Read more.
ADOC: 3 COVID-19 Cases Reported in Prisons, 1 Inmate Died After Diagnosis
The Alabama Department of Corrections on Friday reported the first three confirmed cases of COVID-19 within its prisons. One of the diagnosed inmates, a 66-year-old with a terminal illness, died Thursday, but an official cause of death has not yet been determined, the ADOC said in a statement on its website. Read more.
National Guard Called in to Disinfect Nursing Homes
UPDATE — A team of specially trained Alabama National Guard troops is expected Saturday at the Bill Nichols State Veterans Home as part of a mission to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus at nursing homes around the state. In a news release issued today, the state Department of Public Health said Guard troops will be disinfecting nursing homes where patients and employees have tested positive for COVID-19 and will train staff at the homes in the proper use of personal protective equipment. Read more.
EPA Rejects Move to Strengthen Air Pollution Limits
The Trump EPA announced this week that it will not lower the current limit on particulate air pollution, an action that disappointed but didn’t surprise public health scientists and clean-air advocates who pointed to a new Harvard study connecting the pollution to a higher mortality risk from COVID-19. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler’s decision flew in the face of the agency’s own career scientists, who had urged adoption of stricter air quality standards for what is commonly referred to as soot. Wheeler was backed up by a majority of the agency’s independent advisory group on air quality, including Corey Masuca of the Jefferson County Health Department. Read more.
COVID-19 Diagnosed in 4,723 Alabamians
Alabama’s cases of COVID-19 stood at 4,723 today, and the number of people who have been hospitalized since the pandemic began reached 620. Reported deaths in the state are up to 147. The Alabama Department of Public Health has confirmed 113 of those deaths and is investigating the remainder of the cases, in which people who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 died. Read more.
Sign of the Times: A Prayer for Healing
The First Missionary Baptist Church-East Boyles, in Tarrant City, shared a prayer on the sign outside the church.