December 2, 2020 - A Brand New Milestone

A Brand New Milestone

December 2, 2020

On April 21, the coronavirus claimed the lives of 2,744 Americans, according to worldometers.info, a prominent global tracking service. Nearly half of those deaths occurred in New York and New Jersey. That day has remained America’s deadliest day in the entire pandemic … until now. What has gone virtually unnoticed is the fact that another 2,672 Americans died yesterday, and we are on track to eclipse the April highs this week - perhaps as early as today (2,661 reported deaths as of 6 pm central).

For over 6 months, I’ve heard the constant refrain that “deaths are going down”, even as cases are going up. While it is true that deaths are going down as a percentage of active cases, due to a variety of factors, more deaths are the inevitable result of a deadly virus that is increasingly out of control. As the capacity of hospitals are being stretched to the breaking point, we should expect to see deaths increase as well.

Here in Alabama, several daily milestones were broken today. There were 3,928 new cases (incl. 793 probables) - a record. There were 73 reported deaths - another record. The single-day positivity rate was 40.5% - another record. The 7-day positivity rate was 32.5% - another record. And there are now 1,801 patients reportedly in 108 hospitals statewide - yet another terrible record. 

ADPH tried to mitigate the gravity of the spike in new cases by pointing out that 706 positive PCR test results from one facility were included in today’s data even though the tests were performed between November 23-29. This is not the same thing as a data dump; a positive case diagnosed last week is an active case today. It was not clear where the identified facility is located - perhaps any one of a number of counties that hit new highs in daily cases today, including Jefferson, Tuscaloosa, Etowah, Marshall, St. Clair and Walker. 

It is no wonder that the CDC warned Americans today, without equivocation, not to travel for the holidays. By the end of this month (hopefully), most front line healthcare workers will be vaccinated, but that leaves hundreds of millions of Americans who will remain vulnerable. Especially in a state like ours, which is filled with people who, incredibly, are still convinced this travesty is a hoax, that is a frightening thought.  The totals:

11/19 - 2424

11/20 - 2463

11/21 - 2335

11/22 - 1798

11/23 - 1574

11/24 - 2785

11/25-  2453

11/26 - 2639

11/27 -  917

11/28 - 2119

11/29 - 2236

11/30 - 2295

12/1  -  3376

12/2  -  3928

Here are the counties with more than 100 daily cases: Jefferson - 688 (previous high was 462, reported yesterday); Tuscaloosa - 225 (new high); Etowah - 213 (new high); Madison - 202; Mobile - 196; Marshall - 184 (new high); Shelby -162 (2nd highest); Morgan -144 (2nd highest); Montgomery - 107; Jackson - 103; and Baldwin - 112. In 62 of our 67 counties, the 14-day positivity rate exceeded 20%; in 38 counties, the rate exceeded 30%; in 11 counties, it exceeded 40%; and in 4 counties, it exceeded 50% (Lamar; Winston; Marshall; and Coosa).