June 12, 2020 - Fallout From Memorial Day
Fallout From Memorial Day
June 12, 2020
Yesterday, Alabama reported 856 new COVID-19 cases, a shockingly steep 50% increase from the day before. Today’s report - 865 new cases - confirms that yesterday’s number was no fluke. Daily hospital admissions remained stable - 37 compared with 36 yesterday. And total confirmed statewide hospitalizations were likewise stable - 647 compared with 646 yesterday.
Testing is always a volatile statistic from day to day but it does appear that testing is gradually increasing in the state, reaching a new 7-day average peak of 6,692. However, Alabama remains behind many other states in terms of testing volume; in fact, only Texas and South Carolina trail Alabama in per capita testing among the eleven southern states. As noted in my earlier posts, the recent increase in new cases cannot be explained by more testing; indeed, the 7-day average rate of positivity rose for the fifth consecutive day to 9.09, which is a sure sign that the disease is spreading.
Like yesterday, new cases are widespread throughout the state. Dr. Karen Landers of ADPH said that the increases “...have been connected to outbreaks as a result of large gatherings that occurred during the Memorial Holiday, and at other times.” Montgomery Co. was again the leader with 107 cases but that is down from 146 yesterday. There were 29 counties with double digit increases. The following counties set new individual records:Jefferson-89; Tuscaloosa-86; Madison-28; Cullman-19; Russell-15; Limestone-13; Dale-15; and Covington-8.
Earlier this spring, as we watched our fellow Americans in the Northeast and Upper Midwest struggle to control this pandemic, we had an opportunity to prepare. Instead, we failed and our leaders failed to take heed. Alabama now has more new cases than the entire State of New York. More than New Jersey. More than Illinois, Pennsylvania, Michigan or Massachusetts. Indeed, Alabama had more new cases today than all but five states in the entire country - California, Texas, Florida, Arizona and North Carolina. The epicenter of the pandemic clearly has become the Sun Belt* … and the summer heat will not make the virus go away.
Here are the 14-day totals:
5/30 - 616
5/31 - 593
6/1 - 294
6/2 - 136
6/3 - 85
6/4 - 221
6/5 - 640
6/6 - 458
6/7 - 457
6/8 - 425
6/9 - 497
6/10 - 567
6/11 - 856
6/12 - 865
*Other southern states are also in the crosshairs of this disease. As of 4:30 p.m. today, new case totals at or near record levels include - Georgia (810); Tennessee (786); Arkansas (731); South Carolina (729); Mississippi (608). Texas set a new individual record yesterday (2,023) while Florida (1,902) and North Carolina (1,846) have set new individual records today.