Science

COVID-19 Cases Continue Steady Growth, with 1,699 New Cases in Saturday Report

The number of COVID-19 cases in Alabama continued a steady climb on Saturday as the state Department of Public Health reported 1,699 new cases and 35 deaths from the disease. It was the greatest number of new cases reported in a single day in more than a month, pushing Alabama's total to 192,285 cases since the pandemic began in March. The department added 1,789 cases to the overall count in Saturday's report but said 90 of those came from a lab in Covington County for the period of Aug. 6 to Oct. 27. There have been 164,295 confirmed cases and 27,990 listed as probable. Alabama's death count for the pandemic reached 2,967, including 2,761 confirmed and 206 probable. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Birmingham Cancels Court Hearings Because of Rising Coronavirus Threat

Birmingham has postponed all in-person court appearances in its municipal courts beginning Monday because of rising COVID-19 cases. A statement released by the Municipal Court said scheduled appearances — including for hearings in misdemeanor, traffic and parking cases — have been postponed until further notice. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

After an Earlier Decline, COVID-19 Cases and Hospitalizations Are on the Rise Again

Alabama’s COVID-19 case numbers had been declining recently, but that’s taken a turn for the worse in the past few weeks. Like much of the country, Alabama has seen increases in the moving averages of new cases per day, with the 7-day average now at 1,183.57 per day and the 14-day average at 1,147.57. Hospitalizations also have spiked to more than 1,000 for the first time in two months. The cumulative total of positive tests as of Wednesday had risen to 187,706. Of those, 160,380 are confirmed cases and the rest are listed as probable cases. The moving averages of new daily cases are now at their highest levels since early September, though they still are still well below the peaks of July. Read more.

by Robert Carter

Health Experts Warn Alabama May See Another COVID-19 Surge; Fauci Is Optimistic About A Vaccine

Health experts at the University of Alabama at Birmingham warn that Alabama could see another surge of COVID-19 in the coming weeks. This comes as the number of new daily cases in the state continues to tick upward. “Unfortunately, we’re now heading up towards higher levels [of COVID-19 caseloads] than we’ve ever seen before,” said Dr. Michael Saag, a UAB infectious disease doctor. “Positivity rates of tests in Alabama are almost up to 25% now. That means one in four tests are coming back positive.” Saag said this indicates widespread community spread. He said the goal is to have a positivity rate of less than 5%. Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, said that he predicts “with some degree of certainty” that in the next four to six weeks officials will have some answers to the question of vaccines. Read more.

by Miranda Fulmore, WBHM

UAB Launches First Uterus Transplant Program in Southeast

Doctors estimate that worldwide, hundreds of thousands of women cannot get pregnant because they either do not have a uterus or they have one that does not function properly. For some, uterine transplantation provides an option to bear children. UAB Hospital announced last week it would begin offering this procedure, making it the first program in the Southeast and the only institution in the nation to offer uterus transplants outside of a clinical trial. Read more.

by Mary Scott Hodgin, WBHM

Neither Gloom nor Rain Discourages These Voters From Casting Ballots

Rain Saturday did not deter hundreds of voters who lined up to vote their absentee ballot in person at the downtown Jefferson County courthouse. It was the last Saturday the two courthouses in Birmingham and Bessemer were to be open for absentee voters before Nov. 3’s election. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

UAB Study Suggests Stay-at-Home Orders Saved Lives This Spring

If no states had issued stay-at-home orders to their residents as the novel coronavirus swept across the country this past spring, the U.S. could have had 22% more deaths and 220% more people infected than if there had been a nationwide stay-at-home order, researchers at UAB have projected. Read more.

by Virginia Martin

UAB Doctor Warns of COVID-19 Surge, Urges Precautions as Flu Season Starts

COVID-19 cases in Alabama are surging just as Birmingham sees its first few flu cases, UAB epidemiologist Rachael Lee said Friday. The rise in the number of COVID-19 infections mirrors trends across most of the country, Lee told reporters. She urged people to continue to wash their hands, wear masks and maintain social distancing — measures that reduce the spread of both COVID-19 and influenza. Lee also recommended getting the flu vaccine since UAB has already diagnosed several patients with the flu.  “Places like Chile and Australia who just had their flu season had very, very low numbers because they were following all of these other COVID-19 mitigation strategies. So I'm hopeful that that, in addition to the flu vaccine, will really protect our community from seeing a surge,” Lee said. Read more.

by Angela Fu

Who Does the Coronavirus Attack and Kill in Alabama?

Individuals from 25 to 49 years old make up the biggest percentage of Alabamians who have contracted COVID-19, but adults who are 50 and older account for almost 95% of the deaths from the disease, the Alabama Department of Public Health reported Thursday. While people age 65 and up made up 16.8% of those who have contracted the coronavirus, they accounted for more than three of every four deaths. People aged 50 to 64 accounted for about 18% of the deaths. Read more details about who is getting and dying from COVID in Alabama.

by Glenn Stephens

Jefferson County Schools Plan to Expand Broadband to Serve Students Learning Virtually

Help is on the way for remote learners who have had little to no access to Wi-Fi. Meeting in Bessemer Thursday, the Jefferson County Commission amended the Cares Act Coronavirus Relief Fund subgrant agreement with the Jefferson County Board of Education to award an additional $4,648,600 to expand broadband capacity to reach students taking classes virtually. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.