COVID-19 Positive Homeless Can Be Quarantined at Former Salvation Army Building, Jefferson County Commission Says
“Steve, we hear you. Can you hear us?” As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect the state, the Jefferson County Commission continues to hold its meetings via videoconference, shown live on Facebook. Sometimes it takes a little while for everyone to get online, as when Commission President Jimmie Stephens was trying to get through to Commissioner Steve Ammons before the meeting began Thursday morning. But they do eventually get together, as they did today for a meeting dominated by the pandemic and its effects on the county. The agenda of regular business filled just a handful of pages thanks to the shutdown of nearly all government functions. The only item of new business was approval to use the former Salvation Army facility in the northern part of downtown Birmingham as a place for homeless people who test positive for COVID-19 to stay. The facility would be used on an as-needed basis. Read more.
The number of reported deaths in Alabama attributed to the COVID-19 virus has almost doubled in the past nine days, but that’s a slight improvement over numbers from earlier in April.
The BirminghamWatch weekly analysis of data from the Alabama Department of Health’s daily reports shows that the total reported deaths surpassed 200 for the first time Wednesday. The total of 201 was almost twice what was reported nine days prior, when 102 deaths were reported on April 13. That number was double the 50 deaths reported April 7, seven days beforehand, so the rate of doubling is slowing down. 
