Health Care

Alabama’s COVID-19 Numbers: 1,265 Confirmed Cases, 17 Deaths

The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Alabama climbed today to 1,265, the state Department of Public Health reported. The agency said it has confirmed 17 deaths from the coronavirus pandemic and is investigating the cause of death of another 15 people who had tested positive for COVID-19. The total number of people diagnosed with the disease rose by 104 since Wednesay night, but the number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 remained the same. Jefferson County continued to have the most cases in the state with 327. But the state's most populous county still had no confirmed deaths from the disease, though health officials were investigating the deaths of five people who had been diagnosed with COVID-19. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Birmingham Could Be Two Weeks Away From NYC COVID-19 Rates

The coronavirus pandemic in Alabama is not as bad as hot spots elsewhere in the country, but public health officials expect that to change. Read more.

by Andrew Yeager, WBHM

COVID-19 Cases in Alabama Pass the 1,000 Mark, 17 Deaths Reported

The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Alabama climbed today to 1,013, the state Public Health Department said. The agency said it has confirmed 17 deaths from the coronavirus pandemic and is investigating the cause of death of another nine people who had tested positive for COVID-19. The spread of the disease in Alabama has been dramatic over the past week. The Public Health Department reported the state’s first death from COVID-19 one week ago today – March 25 – and said it had confirmed 386 cases statewide at the time. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

SNAP Recipients Get Additional Benefits

Some Alabamians enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly called SNAP and formerly referred to as food stamps, got additional funds April 1 as part of a federal response to the COVID-19 crisis. “Current SNAP recipients will receive a supplement in their accounts that will take their March benefits to the monthly maximum for family size regardless of income,” Barry Spear, a spokesman for the Alabama Department of Human Resources, told Alabama Daily News. “Families already receiving the monthly maximum benefit will not receive the supplement.” Read more.

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

Thirteen Confirmed Deaths in Alabama from COVID-19, Nine Others Suspected

The number of deaths in Alabama from COVID-19 continued to rise today, with the state Public Department confirming 13 people have died from the disease and nine others  are suspected of being victims. That is more than double the six deaths reported at the end of the day Monday. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Making Sense of Alabama’s Coronavirus Numbers

If you’re following the coronavirus pandemic, you’re probably seeing a lot of numbers: confirmed cases, number of tests, deaths. The Alabama Department of Public Health has a map to keep track of it all. But if you’re tracking the coronavirus numbers carefully, you might notice they don’t always move the way you’d expect them to. For instance, the number of confirmed cases goes up while the number of tests don’t. Deaths are reported in the media, but they don’t show up in the state’s total. It’s all a product of how the state’s numbers are gathered and the time it takes to ensure they’re correct. Read more.

by Andrew Yeager, WBHM

Alabama COVID-19 Death Toll Rises to 13, Five More Being Checked

Alabama's death toll from COVID-19 rose this morning from six to 13, and the state Public Health Department reported it was looking into five more deaths of people who had been diagnosed with the disease. The department said there have been three deaths from the coronavirus pandemic in Chambers County and two deaths each in Lee and Shelby counties. These counties reported one death each: Jackson, Lauderdale, Madison, Mobile, Montgomery and Tallapoosa. Officials did not say where the other five deaths occurred. The department verifies the cause of death before adding a case to its official lisst. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Alabama’s COVID-19 Death Toll Rises to 13

The Alabama Public Health Department raised the state's death toll from COVID-19 this morning from six to 13 and reported a total of 949 confirmed cases of the disease in the state. The department said there have been three deaths from the coronavirus pandemic in Chambers County and two deaths each in Lee and Shelby counties. These counties reported one death each: Jackson, Lauderdale, Madison, Mobile, Montgomery and Tallapoosa. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Alabama COVID-19 Numbers: 935 Confirmed Cases, 6 Deaths

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases rose by more than 100 to 935 today, the Alabama Public Health Department reported.  Six deaths from the virus have been confirmed by state health officials. The coronavirus has now been reported in 59 of the state's 67 counties. While the official death count stood at six, more deaths have been reported by hospitals; the state has a process to verify the virus was to blame before including deaths in the official numbers. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Coronavirus Scams Peddling Fake Cures and Work-at-Home Schemes on the Rise

There’s been a sharp uptick in malicious online activity in Alabama and elsewhere in recent weeks. Scammers are increasingly using fake emails, social media posts, and text messages to steal passwords, money, and personal information from unsuspecting users. Gary Warner, head of research in computer forensics at UAB, says scams around COVID-19 have proliferated. Retailers are peddling all sorts of bogus remedies. Spam email subject lines say things like ‘Are you safe from Corona?’ and ‘Would you like to protect your family from Corona?’ Following these links can redirect users to download a program that infects a computer with malware to steal passwords. Warner says high anxiety around coronavirus has created the perfect panic moment for scammers. Read more.

by Gigi Douban, WBHM