Alabama added 3,366 new cases of COVID-19 and 133 deaths from the disease in Thursday’s daily update by the state Department of Public Health.

There have been 13,798 deaths from the coronavirus over the course of the pandemic. The average number of deaths added by the ADPH continued to grow, reaching 134 a day in the update Thursday. That is almost seven times the average on 20 deaths a day at the beginning of September. There is a lag time of about two weeks for reporting and confirming COVID deaths, officials say.

The state has recorded 781,915 COVID cases so far, averaging 2,864 a day over the past week. The average number of new cases per day has fallen from 5,538 on Sept. 1 to 2,864 on Thursday.

The Alabama Hospital Association reported a continued drop in the number of people hospitalized. There were 1,766 coronavirus inpatients in hospitals across the state on Wednesday, down from 2,890 at the beginning of the month. The association said 41% of the 1,534 patients being treated in intensive care units were victims of the coronavirus. The COVID patients in ICUs included 35 pediatric cases and 1,731 adults, 84% of who were not fully vaccinated, officials said.