Coronavirus

JeffCo Schools Moving Toward On-Campus Classes Starting Later this Month

Jefferson County Schools will begin accepting students back onto campuses in just more than a week. Superintendent Walter Gonsoulin announced on Facebook Thursday that the system would resume traditional learning starting Sept. 21. Grades will have staggered starts on the in-person learning. Students will go to class two days a week at first. Wednesdays will be set aside for remote learning for children and cleaning schools for staff. After two weeks, they will transition to five days a week on campus. Students who want to may continue with virtual learning. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Alabama’s COVID-19 Cases, Deaths Trending Downward, Though Data-Collection Concerns Remain

The official COVID-19 data reported by the Alabama Department of Public Health continues to show improvement in most categories, though some questions remain about whether state totals are sometimes incorrect because of reporting issues. 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 for the period ending Wednesday was 622.86 per day. That average has fallen by two-thirds since its high July 19, but in recent weeks it has spiked in both directions because of issues in reporting of positive cases by various testing organizations. The ADPH said last week that some counties had reported higher numbers than normal because they were adding cases backlogged from earlier weeks, and some labs that use the newer antigen tests had not been reporting. Read more.

by Robert Carter and Glenn Stephens, BirminghamWatch

Alabama’s COVID-19 Count Rises by 687 Cases, 15 Deaths

Alabama recorded 687 confirmed new cases of COVID-19 and 15 deaths from the disease in Thursday's update from the state Department of Public Health. Those figures pushed the state's totals since the pandemic began in March to 123,267 confirmed cases, plus 12,298 probable cases for a total of 135,565 overall. The Health Department defines probable cases as those in which a patient has tested positive by antigen, has had close contact with a confirmed case, has symptoms meeting clinical criteria of COVID-19, and has no confirmatory laboratory testing performed for COVID-19.  There have been 2,176 deaths that were confirmed to be from the disease, plus 125 probable cases for a total of 2,301. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Number of COVID-19 Patients in Alabama Hospitals Falls to Less Than Half Its Peak

The number of people hospitalized in Alabama for COVID-19 has dropped to less than half the peak figure of more than a month ago, the Alabama Department of Public Health reported Wednesday. There were 778 people in hospitals across the state for treatment of confirmed cases of the disease on Tuesday, down from a high of 1,613 on Aug. 6. A total of 15,237 people have been hospitalized because of the coronavirus throughout the pandemic. The agency's daily COVID-19 update also showed 701 confirmed new cases of COVID-19 and eight deaths from the disease on Wednesday. Those figures brought the number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus since the pandemic began in March to 122,580, plus 2,161 deaths. Another 11,837 cases and 124 deaths were listed as probably being from COVID-19. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

405 New Cases, One Death Listed on Tuesday’s COVID-19 Report

Alabama reported 405 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, and the state Department of Public Health listed one death in its daily update. The agency showed a total of 121,879 cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began, along with 11,727 cases listed as probable. The state's death toll stood at 2,153, plus 124 deaths listed as probably from the disease. There were 858 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Alabama on Monday, the Health Department's Dashboard showed. The number of coronavirus patients in the hospitals peaked at 1,613 on Aug. 6, and dropped to as low as 829 on Saturday, Sept. 5. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

State Reports 659 New Cases, No Deaths from COVID-19

There were 659 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and no additional deaths from the disease in Monday's daily update by the Alabama Department of Public Health. That brought the state's total for the period of the pandemic to 121,474 confirmed cases, and the total confirmed deaths remained 2,152. Another 11,499 cases and 124 deaths were listed as probably from the coronavirus. Jeffferson County was the only county with a triple-digit increase, with 113 cases to push its total to 16,703. Mobile County reported 17 cases, remaining second overall with 12,289 confirmed cases. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Daily Average Number of COVID-19 Cases in Alabama Continues to Fall

Alabama's rolling seven-day average for new COVID-19 cases fell Sunday to its lowest number in two and a half months. The state recorded 488 confirmed new cases of the disease in Sunday's daily update by the Alabama Department of Public Health. That brought the state's total to 120,815 since the pandemic began in mid-March. The daily average over the past week dropped to 623, the lowest since a count of 592 on June 23.  There was one new death in the Sunday report, raising the state total to 2,152. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

1,038 New Cases of COVID-19 Reported in Alabama in Saturday Update

Alabama recorded 1,038 confirmed new cases of COVID-19 in Saturday's update by the state Department of Public Health. The daily total was the highest this week, although the numbers often are subject to revision. It brought the number of confirmed cases of the disease in Alabama to 120,327, plus 11,626 cases listed as probably from the coronavirus. The Health Department's COVID-19 Dashboard showed seven deaths for the most recent 24-hour period. The overall total since the pandemic began in March now stands at 2,151, with another 124 deaths listed as probable. a href=" https://birminghamwatch.org/1038-new-cases-covid-19-reported-alabama-saturday-update/ "> Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Remembering an Alabamian Driven to Figure Out How Things Worked

WBHM To understand how much Fred Bischoff loved to figure out how things worked, consider when he had surgery for a pacemaker at age 35. “He asked if he could be awake while they put the pacemaker in and they let him,” his daughter Lisa Higginbotham said. “[It] was absolutely crazy.” Bischoff was born in Birmingham and later settled in Montgomery where he and his wife raised three children. He died in June from COVID-19, one of more than 2,200 Alabamians who have died during the pandemic. He was 79. He came from a long line of mechanically-minded men in his family and his curiosity started early. As a kid he wanted to figure out how the wringer of a washing machine worked. But in doing so, his right arm was pulled in and his mother had to rescue him. He had scar for the rest of his life. Read more.

by Andrew Yeager, WBHM

COVID-19 Case Count Rises by 688, With 24 Deaths

There were 688 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 24 deaths from the disease in Friday's daily count, the Alabama Department of Public Health reported. The figures brought to number of confirmed cases in the state to 119,289 and the number of deaths to 2,144 since the pandemic began in March. Another 11,104 cases and 122 deaths are listed as probably from the coronavirus. There was confusion surrounding the department's update Friday. The COVID-19 Dashboard initially showed an increase of 11,792 confirmed cases and 137 confirmed deaths for the day. The totals were updated later in the morning, without an immediate explanation, to indicate 688 new cases and 24 deaths.  Read more.

by BirminghamWatch