A UAB doctor said Wednesday that stay-at-home orders had kept the lid on the number of COVID-19 cases but with reopening, Alabama is “seeing the case counts go up.” Read more.
Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill said the state is prepared for the July 14 primary runoffs and he does not foresee problems here like the ones that happened during Georgia’s voting Tuesday. Merrill said all of the state’s 1,980 poll sites will be open for next month’s primary runoff elections. He said he knows of no shortage of poll workers, and he has asked all election officials in the state to let him know if there is a shortage. The issue of whether enough poll workers would be available to work on this election arose because of the coronavirus pandemic. Most poll workers are retired, election officials say, and people over 65 are more susceptible to the virus. Read more.
Alabama added 555 confirmed cases of COVID-19, along with 14 deaths from the disease, for the 24-hour period ending at 10 a.m. Wednesday, the state Department of Public Health reported. There have been 21,626 confirmed cases, plus 363 probable cases, since the coronavirus pandemic began, the department said it is daily update. There have been 739 deaths from COVID-19 in the state, plus five more deaths that possibly resulted from the disease. The Alabama Department of Public Health’s daily updated showed figures for COVID-19 cases from 10 a.m. Tuesday to 10 a.m. Wednesday. Read more.
Birmingham has extended its face covering ordinance through July 3. The ordinance requires all Birmingham residents to wear face coverings in public places to slow the spread of COVID-19. Read more.
The statewide total of COVID-19 cases in Alabama grew by 481 today, and there were 11 new deaths from the disease. The Alabama Department of Public Health this morning released figures for COVID-19 cases from 10 a.m. Monday to 10 a.m. Tuesday. The agency said there have been 21,071 confirmed cases of the disease and 725 deaths since the pandemic began. It listed another 351 probable cases of COVID-19. Read more.
Nearly 100 employees of the Alabama Department of Corrections have tested positive for the coronavirus, including 16 whose positive tests were announced today. In a news release, the department said each of the 16 employees has self-quarantined. Read more.
Alabama has 424 more confirmed cases of COVID-19 and one more probable case reported. Between 10 a.m. Sunday and 10 a.m. Monday, 26 more people died from the disease. Probable deaths remained at four. In all, 714 people have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic began in March. The state has had a total of 20,590 confirmed cases of the disease and 424 probable cases. Read more.
Alabama chalked up 457 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 between Saturday morning and Sunday morning, and three more people died of the disease in that period. The state has 20,166 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 334 probable cases. Deaths in the state have risen to 688 confirmed, with another four deaths characterized as probable. As of Sunday morning, 471 patients were hospitalized with the disease. Read more.
Social distancing has taken a backseat to social statements the past week as persons have assembled in large numbers to protest the death of George Floyd and to call for change. But state health officials worry that the combination of crowds and the coronavirus could greatly amplify COVID-19 cases in Alabama and the U.S. They urge people to remain mindful of social distancing, hygiene and face covering recommendations as they assemble. Dr. Karen Landers, assistant state health officer for the Alabama Department of Public Health, said she and others in her department are deeply concerned and saddened about the death of George Floyd. And they say persons have the right to peaceful assembly to express their individual and collective opinions. “But we do remain concerned when there's a congregate group of any size for any reason, and social distancing measures are not taking place,” Landers said. “It concerns me as a physician to see people that are in large groups that aren't taking any measures." Read more.
Confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases in Alabama have risen by 2,742 in the past week, an average of 391.7 cases per day. Deaths also have risen by 79, an average of 11.3 deaths a day. That shows a decrease in average daily cases and a slight increase in average daily deaths from the week before, when the state averaged 519 total cases and 9.9 deaths a day. Case counts and deaths reported on the Alabama Department of Public Health’s website had been undercounted this past week because the national surveillance system had been overwhelmed, department officials said. The result was that the site appeared to indicate Alabama was making more progress in the fight against the coronavirus than it actually was. But the department reported Saturday morning that the backlog had been cleared. Read more.
