Coronavirus

Senate Passes $2 Trillion Stimulus Bill

The Senate late Thursday night voted 96-0 to pass at $2 trillion coronavirus relief bill. Both of Alabama’s senators voted for the bill. Members of the House of Representatives have been called back to Washington to take up the bill Friday morning. Alabama Sen. Doug Jones, a Democrat, said the bill wasn’t perfect, but it did include a lot of good things for the state. Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby, a Republican, said the bill would help state and local governments that are in desperate need while grappling with the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more.

by Virginia Martin

Rush Hour on 22nd Street

The scene on the usually congested 22nd Street South near the UAB area was much different than usual Wednesday. (Source: Tom Gordon)

by Tom Gordon

UAB Doctors Concerned Over Growing Number of Coronavirus Patients

As the number of patients being treated for coronavirus in the Birmingham area increases, UAB doctors say they are extremely concerned about the rapid growth of the pandemic. UAB Hospital reported 60 confirmed cases late Wednesday, with 30 patients on ventilators. There had been 18 on ventilators Wednesday morning. Grandview Hospital reported one coronavirus case early Wednesday, but the number rose to two by afternoon. Read more.

by Virginia MacDonald

Layoffs, Job Losses — COVID-19 Impact Expected to Play Out Over Months

You don’t have to get infected by the coronavirus to see it have a painful impact on your life, as many workers – or former workers – have discovered. Christine Prichard, a freelance photographer based in Birmingham, has seen the impact of COVID 19 in a couple of ways. First, her teenage son is in the Dominican Republic and she’s eager to get him back home, even though that would mean two weeks of quarantine with him. But like many others, Prichard is seeing her business affected by the pandemic, as well. She frequently shoots photos of corporate events, and late last month, at an annual celebratory event for a trade group, she saw an early sign that the pandemic was going to have an economic downside for her work. “It was their annual meeting to kind of celebrate their sales. And at that meeting every year they would announce where they would book their annual trip for the top sales people of this product. And there was a guy that had to announce that they were not going to book the trip, pending what’s going on with coronavirus,” she recalled. “He said, ‘It's just too iffy. We don’t want to lose deposits. We’re being super-careful.’” That, Prichard said, was “kind of the first little wind I got that, ‘Oh. This could really be an issue.’” Since then, she said, “I haven’t done an event in a couple of weeks.” From gig workers, to teachers to even health care workers and others, many are finding that the pandemic has reached into their pockets. The pandemic has economic forecasters talking about recession in the wake of massive jobs losses. The headlines are about plants closing, unemployment claims rising, the government working on details of stimulus relief to American workers – and failing to come to terms. An NPR/PBS Newshour/Marist poll said that by last Wednesday, “nearly 20% of U.S. households have experienced either a layoff or a reduction in work hours because of the coronavirus.” Unemployment filings are rising significantly. Preliminary Alabama Department of Labor numbers show that more than 17,000 people filed for unemployment on Sunday and Monday, the Associated Press reported. In the week that ended March 13, that number was 1,434. Read more.

by Nick Patterson

Jackson County Reports Alabama’s First Coronavirus Death

UPDATED — An employee at the Jackson County Courthouse has died from the coronavirus, according to County Commission Chairman Tim Guffey, which could be Alabama’s first death from the COVID-19 pandemic. Guffey released a statement today, which said the employee worked in a department of the courthouse that did not require regular contact with the public. The courthouse will not reopen, however, until at least April 6, he added. “From the day that the part-time employee last worked, the expected incubation period has now expired,” Guffey said. “All county employees who work in the same department have been notified and none of them have reported any symptoms associated with the COVID-19 virus.” Read more.

by Scott Morris

COVID-19 Cases in Alabama Jump to 386, Up by More Than 100 Today

The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Alabama jumped by 103 today, totaling 386. The Alabama Department of Public Health's updated count this morning was 283, but the total when the figures were posted this afternoon was 386. The biggest increase was in Jefferson County, where the total rose from 99 earlier in the day to 129 in the later count. Shelby County reported 42 cases, up by six today. There were cases in 41 of Alabama's 67 counties. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Websites Offer Details on COVID-19 Cases, Testing

Public health agencies in Alabama are offering websites to provide a wide range of information about COVID-19 cases, where they are occurring and how to get tested. The sites are updated twice daily as the number of cases increase. The Jefferson County Health Department's coronavirus site offers information ranging from a breakdown of cases by ZIP code to tips on coping with the disease, sources of various types of information and listings of business closings. Read more.

by Glenn Stephens

Birmingham City Council Approves Final Piece of Funding for a Small Business Loan Program

The Birmingham City Council on Wednesday approved spending $1 million from its General Fund on a small business loan program designed to help small businesses struggling with the impact of COVID-19. The money is in addition to $200,000 put in the program fund Tuesday from the city’s innovation and economic opportunity fund. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Coronavirus Puts Focus on Preppers

Christopher Price is busily moving supplies from one shelf to another in anticipation of more customers coming through the door of his shop.  Price opened Prepper Depot and Military Surplus in late 2018, in what looks like an old convenience store on Highway 280, just south of Childersburg.  But now, instead of snacks and drinks, military surplus and prepper supplies cover just about every available space.  At the counter, where Price usually holds court, there are a few items for display only, including a rusty 19th-century French rapier he bought online. “Preppers in general, just tend to prepare for tornadoes, storms, electricity being out. Your vast majority of preppers are not prepping for end of times,” he says. Price says his shoppers are looking for things like wool blankets, sleeping bags, canteens and food with a 25-year shelf life. But with the recent pandemic, Price says he’s been adding coronavirus supplies to his inventory as well. Read more.

by Richard Banks, WBHM

Alabamians Encouraged to Give Blood

It’s safe to donate blood – and in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, donation centers say blood supplies are needed statewide.  A national shortage of blood supply is expected as concerns about the coronavirus keep people from donating. In Alabama, people are urged to donate.  “The blood supply could dip to dangerously low levels in the next few weeks if donations don’t increase,” said Bob Shepard, public relations manager of health and medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Read more.

by Abby Driggers, Alabama Daily News