August 17, 2020 - Exposure Notification App
Exposure Notification App
August 17, 2020
The number of new cases (571, incl. 61 probables) declined 33% from yesterday, but the number of tests (6,444) also fell 31%. The end result is that Alabama’s 7-day average positivity rate remains relatively unaffected, now standing at 8.28% (compared to 8.45% yesterday). This marks the 6th day in the last 7 in which fewer than 1,000 cases were reported, so our current 7-day average has dropped to 847.
There are three notable disappointments in today’s data. First, the decline in tests is surprising after several straight days of robust testing; hopefully, today is just an anomaly affected by weekend disruptions. Second, there were 27 deaths (incl. 2 probables) after 4 straight days of deaths in the single digits. We have now recorded a total of 1,925 COVID-19 deaths in Alabama.
Finally, we have yet to see a meaningful improvement in hospitalizations despite the sharp decline in new cases. Cumulative hospitalizations have increased by 351 since Friday and by 888 over the last week. Net of discharges and deaths, there are now 1,301 statewide COVID-19 patients, a drop of 25 patients from Friday. Hospitalizations lag new cases, so hopefully we will see more improvement this week after watching average daily cases drop by almost 50% over the last 2 weeks.
UAB and ADPH held a joint news briefing this morning to announce the launch of GuideSafe’s anonymous Exposure Notification App to the general public. This app was developed initially for use by UA students but it has been made available to everyone, according to UAB officials. Here is the link which explains how to obtain and use this app: https://www.uab.edu/news/campus/item/11501-alabama-s-guidesafetm-exposure-notification-app-launches-statewide/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social
Below are the 14-day totals for Alabama:
8/3 - 1,217
8/4 - 1,041
8/5 - 952
8/6 - 1,938
8/7 - 1,709
8/8 - 1,872
8/9 - 1,161
8/10 - 1,686
8/11 - 831
8/12 - 935
8/13 - 771
8/14 - 700
8/15 - 1,271
8/16 - 853
8/17 - 571
Jefferson (71), Mobile (52) and Madison (48) counties led the way, but 50 counties showed improvement in their positivity rates.