coronavirus

1,061 New Cases, 11 Deaths Reported in Alabama COVID-19 Update

The  Alabama Department of Public Health on Saturday added 1,061 cases of COVID-19 and 11 deaths from the disease to the state's totals for the pandemic. After Saturday's 24-hour update, the agency's COVID-19 Dashboard showed 164,526 cases since the first positive test result in the state was reported on March 13. That includes 144,901 confirmed cases and 19,625 listed as probable. There have been 2,664 deaths, including 2,508 shown as confirmed and 156 as probable. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Alabama’s COVID-19 Count Rises by 1,490 in Friday Report

Alabama added 1,490 new cases of COVID-19, along with 16 deaths from the disease, in Friday's daily update by the state Department of Public Health.  A spokesman for the department said the daily total was inflated because it included an undetermined number of cases dating back several weeks but not reported to the agency until Thursday. There had been 557 new cases reported on the previous day's dashboard. There have been 163,465 cases of the disease in Alabama since the pandemic began in March. That includes 143,900 confirmed cases and 19,565 listed as probable. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

More Workers Being Added to Handle Lines of Absentee Voters in JeffCo

Corrected — Help is on the way to deal with a flood of Jefferson County absentee ballots in the general election. Deputy county manager Cal Markert during a Jefferson County Commission meeting Thursday said 24 temporary workers are expected to start work in the clerk’s office by Monday. These temp workers will deal with in-person absentee voters as well as a backlog of mailed-in absentee ballots. Circuit Clerk Jacqueline Anderson-Smith told BirminghamWatch recently that 400 to 500 persons have been coming to the Birmingham Courthouse every day to cast their ballots. A similar wave of voters is descending on the Bessemer Courthouse, and lines of people wanting to vote have formed at both locations. Alabama appears on its way to having a record number of absentee ballots cast this year. More than 130,000 voters already had requested absentee ballots earlier this week. Oct. 29 is the deadline to apply for absentee ballots. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

557 New Cases, 36 Deaths Listed in Thursday’s COVID-19 Update

Alabama added 557 cases of COVID-19 and 36 deaths from the disease in Thursday's daily update by the state Department of Public Health. The count, down from 941 new cases reported on Wednesday, was the lowest since the department reported 571 cases on Sept. 29. The state has recorded 161,975 cases of the disease since the pandemic began in March. That includes 142,664 confirmed cases and 19,311 listed as probable. Limestone County led the state in Thursday's update with 28 cases, followed by Jefferson County with 27 and Lee County with 25. The death toll of 36 was the highest number reported for a single day since 42 deaths were reported on Aug. 29. There Health Department's Dashboard showed 2,637 Alabamians have died of COVID-19, including 2,484 confirmed and 153 shown as probable. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Alabama’s COVID-19 New Case, Death Averages Mixed Over Previous Week

The rate of new COVID-19 cases in Alabama is staying fairly level while the death rate is drifting downward slightly as the pandemic enters its seventh month. BirminghamWatch’s weekly analysis of data reported by the Alabama Department of Public Health shows the 7-day moving average of new cases for the period ending Wednesday stands at 959.57 per day, down from 1,076.86 cases per day on Sept. 30. The longer 14-day average has stayed relatively steady and is now at 1,018.93, an increase of more than 38 cases per day over the past week. Read more.

by Robert Carter

Daily COVID-19 Count Reaches Highest Number So Far This Week

Alabama's COVID-19 case count grew by 941 on Wednesday, the biggest daily total so far this week, according to the state Department of Public Health's dashboard. There have been 161,418 cases of the disease in the state since the pandemic began in March. The total includes 142,292 confirmed cases and 19,126 listed as probable. Previously this week, the daily totals of new cases were 789 on Sunday, 544 on Monday and 764 on Tuesday. The Health Department's daily update showed 24 new deaths, including seven in Mobile County, to push the state's total to 2,601. That includes 2,454 confirmed as being from COVID-19 and 147 shown as probable. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Back to School: Metro Districts Moving From Virtual to Face-to-Face Instruction

As metro Birmingham school systems learn to cope with the COVID-19 outbreak, many of them are changing back to traditional class schedules, or at least something closer to it. In general, many systems that began with only virtual learning to start the year already have moved toward allowing students back on campus, at least part time. The Jefferson County School System, for instance, is in the midst of a staggered plan to get students back to school in person full time. Others plan to reassess their schedules at the end of the first nine-week grading period, late this month. Read more and look up your school district.

by Robert Carter

UAB Looking for a Variety of Patients for COVID-19 Clinical Trials

Infectious disease doctors at UAB said Tuesday they’re still looking for COVID-19 patients to join a number of clinical trials. Currently, UAB is offering both inpatient and outpatient trials ranging from vaccines to treatments aimed at lessening the effects of the virus. Dr. Sonya Heath, a professor of medicine in UAB’s Division of Infectious Diseases,

by Miranda Fulmore, WBHM

764 New Cases, 21 Deaths Reported in COVID-19 Update

There were 764 new cases of COVID-19 in Alabama, along 21 deaths, the state Department of Public Health reported Tuesday in its daily update. The state has experienced 160,477 cases of the disease since the pandemic began in March. That includes 141,477 confirmed cases and 18,923 listed as probable. The death toll rose to 2,580, with 2,436 confirmed and 144 shown as probable. There was a slight uptick in the number of people hospitalized for the 24-hour period ending on Monday, when there were 791 people in hospitals around the state with COVID-19. That was the highest for the past seven days, when the daily totals ranged from 735 to 774. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Alabama COVID-19 Cases Near 160,000

Alabama added 544 cases of coronavirus to its total this morning and one death. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch