coronavirus

Daily COVID-19 Case Count for Alabama Rises for Third Day in a Row

The number of new cases of COVID-19 in Alabama grew for the third consecutive day Monday, with 1,860 confirmed cases to raise the state's overall total to 54,768. But the number of deaths reported on the Alabama Department of Public Health's COVID-19 Dashboard fell for the third day in a row. The department reported three deaths -- down from 35 deaths on July 10, nine on July 11 and seven on July 12.  Madison County, including Huntsville, had the highest number of new cases in Monday's report with 267 to push its overall total to 2,535. Jefferson County listed 266 cases, raising its total to 7,012, the most in Alabama. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Jefferson County Leads the Way as Alabama’s COVID-19 Rate Continues to Rise

Led by Jefferson County, the state posted 1,614 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, increasing the statewide growth rate for the third consecutive day. Alabama's four most populous counties again had the highest numbers of confirmed new cases as the total number since the pandemic began grew to 52,908, according to the state Department of Public Health's daily update. There were 653 cases shown as probably from the disease but still under study. There were seven deaths for the 24-hour period, including three in Chambers County, which has recorded 30 deaths from COVID-19 overall. Statewide, there have been 1,093 deaths, plus another 28 listed as probably from the illness but not confirmed. The state has averaged 1,351 new cases a day over the past week and 1,282 daily for the past 14 days. Read more.

by Glenn Stephens

Not so Fast, COVID Says to Churches Trying to Reopen

Pastors, elders and the leadership team at Valleydale Church in north Shelby County closed to in-person worship in March because of the coronavirus but reopened June 7. Then COVID-19 surged again in Alabama, surpassing by far the number of infections the state had seen earlier in the year, and that church, along with many others, had to close again a few weeks later. Pastors, rabbis and other religious leaders across the state are watching data from the Alabama Department of Public Health, the CDC and other sources as they consider when it’s safe to reopen for their congregations. Read more.

by Candace Schilling

Alabama Tops 50,000 Mark in COVID-19 Cases

There were 1,402 new cases of COVID-19 in Alabama over the past 24 hours, according to the state Department of Public Health's daily report Saturday. That pushed the total number of cases to 51,294 since the pandemic began. It was the fourth consecutive day with counts above 1,100, including a record 2,164 on Thursday. Alabama is now averaging 1,276 cases a day over the past week and 1,192 for the past 14 days. The Health Department's COVID-19 dashboard listed nine new deaths on Saturday, raising the overall total to 1,086. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Wilson Wrestles With Ways to Tamp Down COVID-19 in Jefferson County

Jefferson County Health Officer Dr. Mark Wilson wrestles with how the state’s most populous county can decrease the daily number of COVID-19 cases, which has been steadily rising for the past two weeks. The county inked a record 343 cases from Wednesday, marking a high point in what has been an upward trend for the county. This past week, July 3-10, 10,659 people were tested in the county, with 1,417 of them testing positive for COVID-19. That’s an average of 202 new cases per day and a positive test rate of 13.3%, Wilson said. There also were 19 deaths during the week. “The situation is horrible,” Wilson said. Read more.

by Virginia MacDonald

Black Belt Counties Rank Worst in COVID-19 Cases Per Capita

It’s a longstanding problem for the counties that make up Alabama’s Black Belt — named for the black, fertile soil used to grow cotton but also home to a large share of the state’s Black population. The counties suffer high rates or poverty and poor health, and the COVID-19 pandemic has brought out the worst of both issues. While the counties that are home to the state’s largest metro areas have seen large raw numbers of positive tests since the outbreak began in March, the Black Belt counties and a handful of counties in the northern part of the state have seen numbers that show their residents are proportionally more hard-hit than those in the Big 4 counties. Read more.

by Robert Carter

Amid Record COVID-19 Cases, Near-Capacity Hospitals Prep For July 4th Influx

With COVID-19 patients already filling beds at a record pace, hospitals across Alabama are bracing for an influx of people infected at Fourth of July gatherings. Statewide hospitalizations Wednesday were 1,110, the highest number yet, Dr. Don Williamson, president and CEO of the Alabama Hospital Association said Thursday. The state also had 163 admissions, the highest one-day number of new patients due to COVID-19. The state was down to 206 intensive care unit beds available, which is 12% of capacity, the lowest rate yet during the pandemic. “The concern is that all the numbers we are using to monitor the outbreak moved in the wrong direction,” Williamson said. Read more.

by Scott Morris

Alabama Records 35 COVID-19 Deaths, the Most in a Single Day

Alabama recorded 35 deaths from COVID-19, the most in one day since the pandemic began, in the state Department of Public Health's daily dashboard on Friday. The death toll was the highest for a single day since 26 people died of the disease on June 8. For July, an average of 13 people a day had died of the disease through Thursday. The number of confirmed cases of the disease grew by 1,304 for the 24-hour period to raise Alabama's overall total to 49,892. That was down significantly from the 2,164 reported Thursday. Another 586 cases and 26 deaths are listed as probably, but not yet confirmed, from COVID-19. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

COVID-19 Count Surges by Record Daily Increase of 2,164 Cases in Alabama

With four counties accounting for 41% of the growth, Alabama on Thursday recorded by far its biggest increase in the number of COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began in March. There were 2,164 new cases of the disease during the latest 24-hour period, the Alabama Department of Public Health's COVID Dashboard showed. That was up from 1,161 on Wednesday and eclipsed the previous record of 1,758 on June 29. The overall total now stands at 48,588 cases, plus 522 listed as probably resulting from the coronavirus but not yet confirmed. There were 10 deaths during the period, raising the overall total for the pandemic to 1,042, plus 26 cases listed as probably from the disease. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Alabama’s COVID-19 New-Case Averages Top 1,000 Per Day for First Time

Alabama reached an unwelcome milestone in its battle with the COVID-19 virus, as the number of new cases reported each day has passed the 1,000 mark in moving averages for the first time. The BirminghamWatch weekly analysis of data reported by the Alabama Department of Public Health shows that the 7-day moving average of new cases has jumped to 1,140.29 per day, the second highest since the outbreak began; the average peaked at 1,212.29 on July 5. The longer-term 14-day moving average now stands at a record high of 1,057.14, after surpassing 1,000 two days prior. Read more.

by Robert Carter