Science

Nobody Accurately Tracks Health Care Workers Lost to COVID-19. So She Stays Up At Night Cataloging the Dead.

When police discovered the woman, she’d been dead at home for at least 12 hours, alone except for her 4-year-old daughter. The early reports said only that she was 42, a mammogram technician at a hospital southwest of Atlanta and almost certainly a victim of COVID-19. Had her identity been withheld to protect her family’s privacy? Her employer’s reputation? Anesthesiologist Claire Rezba, scrolling through the news on her phone, was dismayed. “I felt like her sacrifice was really great and her child’s sacrifice was really great, and she was just this anonymous woman, you know? It seemed very trivializing.” For days, Rezba would click through Google, searching for a name, until in late March, the news stories finally supplied one: Diedre Wilkes. And almost without realizing it, Rezba began to keep count. Read more.

by Nina Martin, ProPublica

Surge in Mobile County Pushes Alabama’s Daily COVID-19 Count to 2,031 on Sunday

An explosion of cases in Mobile County pushed the number of new cases of COVID-19 in Alabama to 2,031 on Sunday, the state Department of Public Health reported. In its daily report, the agency listed 532 confirmed new cases in Mobile County, where the case count has steadily risen over the past three days. The county reported 196 new cases on Thursday, 205 on Friday and 382 on Saturday; it has a total of 8,998 cases since the pandemic began in mid-March. The coastal county has accounted for just over one-fourth of the cases in the state over the past two days. There have been 88,811 cases of COVID-19 in Alabama, according to the Health Department's Dashboard. Sunday's report showed 23 new deaths, including three in Mobile County, for a statewide total of 1,576 during the pandemic. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

COVID-19 Case Count Drops for Second Consecutive Day

The number of new cases of COVID-19 in Alabama dropped Saturday for the second consecutive day as the state reported 1,502 cases and 22 deaths. There were 1,923 cases reported on Thursday and 1,783 on Friday. The 24-hour report by the Alabama Department of Public Health brought the state's overall totals since the pandemic began in March to 86,780 confirmed cases and 1,553 deaths. The average number of cases per day stands at 1,495 for the past week, the first time it has been below 1,500 since July 13. The state is averaging 21 deaths a day over the last seven days. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

COVID-19 Stretching ICU Capacity of Alabama Hospitals

With the number of people being hospitalized with COVID-19 steadily rising, only 12% of the intensive care beds in Alabama hospitals are available for patients sick with the coronavirus and other illnesses, the head of UAB’s Infectious Disease Division said Thursday. "At UAB we are seeing more sick people and seeing more people dying,” said Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo. “Right now, our COVID-care units are at full capacity, but we can absorb more people, and we will. The next couple of weeks are critical because we have not yet seen a decline in the rate of new cases.” Alabama is averaging more than 1,500 new cases of COVID-19 daily, and the state’s positivity rate among those tested for the virus was 19.25% as of Wednesday. The World Health Organization states that positivity rates for COVID should remain at 5% or below for at least 14 days for the situation to be considered under control. Read more.

by Virginia MacDonald

State Reports 1,783 New Cases of COVID-19 and 15 Deaths

There were 1,783 new cases of COVID-19 and 15 deaths from the disease in Alabama over the most recent 24-hour period, according to the state Department of Public Health's daily report on Friday. That raised the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in Alabama to 85,278 and the number of deaths to 1,531 since the pandemic began in mid-March. In addition, the COVID-Dashboard listed an additional 2,445 cases and 49 deaths as probably from COVID-19 but still under study. The state is averaging 1,654 new cases and 19 deaths a day over the past week, and 1,654 cases and 21 deaths daily for the past 14 days. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Tuberville Ignores DC’s Order to Self-Quarantine

Tommy Tuberville, in Washington this week as he campaigns for Alabama’s U.S. Senate election, ignored the city’s orders for people visiting from states with COVID-19 outbreaks to quarantine, The Washington Post reported. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Signs of Hope: Alabama’s COVID-19 Data Starting to Steady

There are some optimistic observations in Alabama’s COVID-19 new-case rate, though it’s a bit early to know whether it is a full-blown trend. Figures through Wednesday show that, after peaking early in the week, the 7-day and 14-day moving averages have declined, and the daily percentage rate of increase in new cases has dipped below 2% for three of the past four days. The 7-day average percentage increase is now just above that mark, after peaking above 3% almost two weeks ago. In Birmingham Watch’s weekly analysis of data reported by the Alabama Department of Public Health, the 7-day moving average of new cases for the period ending July 29 stands at 1,594.14 per day, down by 147 cases from a week prior and by almost 257 from the peak set on July 19. The longer-term 14-day moving average is at 1,667.64, down from a high of last Saturday of 1,787.14. Read more.

by Robert Carter

COVID-19 Death Toll in Alabama Surpasses the 1,500 Mark

Alabama's death toll for COVID-19 climbed to 1,516 Thursday as the state Department of Public Health reported 27 deaths during the latest 24-hour period, including 12 in Jefferson County. Another 49 deaths are listed as probably being from the coronavirus, but still under study. The agency's daily update showed 1,923 confirmed new cases of the disease, pushing the total since the pandemic began in March to 83,495, plus 2,210 listed as probably from COVID-19. The daily total was the highest since 2,283 cases were reported on July 23. Alabama is averaging 1,543 cases and 23 deaths daily for the past week and 1,667 cases and 23 deaths a day over the past 14 days. The Birmingham, Mobile and Huntsville areas accounted for 40% of the new cases reported Thursday. Read more.

by Glenn Stephens

Gov. Ivey Requires Face Masks in Schools, Extends Statewide Ordinance

WBHM — For teachers and students preparing to enter the classroom next month, masks will now be required for anyone in second grade and above. Governor Kay Ivey issued the new mandate Wednesday as an amendment to the statewide mask ordinance and Safer at Home order. The orders, originally set to expire Friday, have been extended through Aug. 31. Read more.

by Mary Scott Hodgin, WBHM

1,263 New Cases, 43 Deaths from COVID-19 Reported Wednesday

Alabama reported 1,263 new cases of COVID-19 and 43 deaths from the disease in Wednesday's daily update by the state Department of Public Health. The agency said an additional 2,075 individuals are believed to have the disease and another 45 are thought to have died of novel coronavirus. Those cases are under study. The figures for the latest 24-hour period brought the total number of confirmed cases since the pandemic began in March to 81,572, along with 1,489 deaths. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch