July 14, 2020 - Change in Reporting Procedure by Hospitals
Change in Reporting Procedure by Hospitals
July 14, 2020
Alabama lost 40 more of its citizens to COVID-19 today. This breaks the single-day record for deaths (37), which was set on May 12. The State’s 7-day average for deaths - 18.43 - also set a new record. Current hospitalizations climbed by a net 18 additional patients, also a new record. The 7-day average positivity rate is 16.58%, the second highest level since April 12. Finally, 1,710 more Alabamians tested positive (incl. probables), the third day in a row the total has exceeded 1,500.
Friends, the science deniers, virus skeptics and data doubters have run out of excuses. This week, record numbers of cases, hospitalizations and deaths have been reported in our State. Even the cancellation of the opening football game between the Crimson Tide and the USC Trojans due to COVID has failed to ignite a sense of urgency in Montgomery.
Two recent headlines from al.com - “Alabama Coroner Reactivates Mobile Morgues as Coronavirus Cases Explode” / “Health Official Warns North Alabama Faces ‘Going Off the Cliff’ on COVID-19” - and others like them around the country, likely explain a disturbing, but little-noticed announcement by the Trump Administration today. From now on, hospitals are ordered to send all COVID-19 patient information to a database in the Dept of Health & Human Services, rather than to CDC. Four former CDC directors, spanning Republican and Democratic administrations, responded with a Washington Post op-ed, laying out their fears that this shift signals White House intentions to politicize COVID-19 data collection. The weekend attacks on Dr. Anthony Fauci certainly reinforce those concerns.
Here are the 14-day totals:
7/1 - 917
7/2 - 1,162
7/3 - 1,754
7/4 - 997
7/5 - 1,091
7/6 - 925
7/7 - 907
7/8 - 1,110
7/9 - 2,212
7/10 - 1,334
7/11 - 1,402
7/12 - 1,640
7/13 - 1,958
7/14 - 1,710
Madison (194), Jefferson (174), Mobile (145) and DeKalb (117) counties exceeded 100 cases today. The DeKalb county numbers represent a 12% increase in a single day.