The seven-day average number of deaths from COVID has more than doubled in Alabama so far this month.

The State Department of Public Health reported 40 new deaths in Tuesday’s daily update, bringing the state’s total 12,718 over the course of the pandemic. There was an average of 43 deaths a day over the past week, more than twice the daily average of 20 for the last week of August.

While the number of deaths has risen dramatically in September, the number of cases has shown a significant decline.

ADPH reported 3,944 new cases on Tuesday, and a seven-day average of 3,840 a day. That compares with a weekly average of 5,538 on Sept. 1. There have been 754,242 cases of the coronavirus in the state since the pandemic began in March 2020.