Coronavirus

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.

by Robert Carter

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.

by Sam Prickett

Alabama Reports Lowest Daily Number of COVID-19 Cases Since June

The number of new cases of COVID-19 in Alabama dropped Tuesday to 536, the lowest daily count in more than seven weeks. Despite the lower number of cases, the Alabama Department of Public Health's daily report showed a total of 48 deaths for the latest 24-hour period, the second-highest daily figure since the pandemic began in mid-March. There were 57 deaths listed on July 22. The Health Department's COVID Dashboard lists a total of 99,926 confirmed cases and 1,781 deaths. An additional 3,630 cases and 64 deaths are presumed to have been related to the disease. Tuesday's total was the lowest since a count of 359 on June 28.  Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

COVID-19 Total Grows by 1,655 Cases in Alabama

Alabama's COVID-19 total rose by 1,655 cases on Monday to a total of 99,390. The number of deaths from the disease was up by 26, leaving the total since the pandemic began in mid-March at 1,733. The Alabama Department of Public Health's data dashboard on Monday morning showed large numbers of new cases in several counties, including Mobile, Baldwin and Clarke in southwest Alabama. But the agency later said those county breakdowns were misleading, due to  technical issues. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Mobile-Area Counties Account for Half of Alabama’s New 1,655 COVID-19 Cases

With three Mobile-area counties accounting for half the cases, the state reported 1,655 confirmed new cases of COVID-19 on Monday. Mobile County reported 570 cases, Baldwin County added 107 and adjoining Clarke County had 164 to raise the state's total to 99,390 since the pandemic began in mid-March. Another 3,599 individuals are listed as probably having had the disease. The state reported 26 deaths for 24-hour period covered by the Alabama Department of Public Health's report. That raised the state total to 1,733, plus 61 listed as probably associated with the coronavirus. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Alabama Reports 1,122 New Cases of COVID-19 and 13 Deaths

There were 1,122 new cases of COVID-19 and 13 deaths from the disease in Alabama over the latest 24-hour period, the state Department of Public Health reported Sunday. That brought the number of confirmed cases since the pandemic began in March to 97,735. The daily average number of new cases for the past week fell to 1,275, its lowest since July 11. The total number of deaths stood at 1,707. Another 3,559 people are listed as probable cases of the disease, and 61 other deaths are listed as probably from it. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Another Jump in COVID-19 Cases Reported Saturday

Alabama reported its largest number of COVID-19 cases since last weekend Saturday, with three counties accounting for more than a third of the 1,786 new cases. The new 24-hour report by the Alabama Department of Public Health brought the number of cases of the coronavirus to 96,613, plus 3,560 others listed as probable COVID-19. The daily tally included 20 deaths, raising the total number for the state to 1,694, plus 61 shown as probable. Mobile County reported 271 cases, Jefferson County 226 and Clarke County 166. Clarke County is in southwest Alabama, just north of the Mobile area. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

UAB Awards Second Round of Grants for COVID Research

The University of Alabama at Birmingham has awarded its second round of grants, totaling $402,000, for urgent COVID-19 research. The 10 new pilot projects began Aug. 1 and will last six months. They were selected for their high probability of having an impact on the COVID-19 crisis within weeks or months. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

As Nursing Homes’ Stocks of PPE Get Too Low for Comfort, Ivey Grants Them $50 Million in COVID Aid

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Friday announced that up to $50 million in federal grants will be allocated to the state’s nursing homes to help respond to COVID-19. That’s welcome news for the state’s long-term care centers, as researchers recently found that one fourth of such facilities have less than a week’s worth of the kind of masks needed to protect workers from contracting coronavirus. Read more.

by Daniel Gaddy

Number of COVID-19 Cases and Daily Average Drop in Friday Report

The Alabama Department of Public Health reported 1,425 new cases of COVID-19 and 20 deaths from the disease in its daily report Friday. That brought the total number of confirmed cases since the pandemic began to 94,827, with another 3,190 listed as probably from COVID-19 but still under study. The state's death toll stood at 1,674, plus 60 additional cases listed as probable. The case count was down from 1,626 on Thursday. The average number of new cases over the past seven days fell to 1,364 a day. That is the lowest daily average since a count of 1,351 on July 12.  Read more.

by BirminghamWatch