August 19, 2020 - Home Football Games
Home Football Games
August 19, 2020
Update from my post yesterday: both Auburn and Alabama have announced that fan attendance at their home football games will be limited to 20% and tailgating will be banned. Face coverings will be required to be worn by all fans and game day workers. That won’t be enough to get me off the couch on Game Day. Others may have a different opinion.
ADPH reported 1,117 new cases today (incl. 148 probables) and the 7-day average of cases rose to 949 from 923. There were 16,949 tests, an increase from 15,199. The 7-day average of tests reached a new high of 12,689. By my calculation (which takes probable cases into account), the 7-day positivity rate has dropped to 7.47%. There are 30 states with better positivity rates than ours and 19 states that are worse off, including Mississippi whose rate is a frightening 23.4%. Eight more deaths were reported, taking our total deaths to 1,944.
According to ADPH, there are currently 1,198 COVID-19 patients in hospitals statewide, a decline of 82 patients from yesterday. However, only 98 hospitals filed reports, 7 fewer than yesterday. Still, this is the first time the statewide patient population has dipped below 1,200 since July 12, more than a month ago. Current patients have declined 25% since hitting a peak of 1,613 on August 6.
The improvements we have witnessed in Alabama over the last 2-3 weeks have not been seen to the same extent in our neighboring states. Mississippi (23.4%) and Florida (16.16%), in particular, continue to have highly elevated 7-day positivity rates, while Texas (12.41%) and Georgia (11.58%) are not far behind. There may be multiple theories for why those four states seem to be unable to make progress. I think the primary reason may be staring us in the face: all four have governors who have consistently refused to follow the advice of their public health advisers. Wear the damn mask! Here are the totals:
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
8/18 - 1,358
8/19 - 1,117
As the most populous counties, Jefferson (139) and Mobile (126) again have the most cases. Tuscaloosa County was third with 93 new cases. It is unknown how many people in the photo lined up outside Gallettes Bar contributed to Tuscaloosa’s total.