June 22, 2020 - Surrounded by a Cauldron of Covid
Surrounded by a Cauldron of Covid
June 22, 2020
It was another puzzling day for Alabama, which finds itself surrounded by states with worsening COVID-19 outbreaks, and yet, Alabama’s total of 433 cases was its second lowest in the last two weeks. Mississippi (1,265) set a new record for that state, while Georgia (1,227) saw its second highest total ever. After four consecutive days over 3,000 cases, Florida (2,926) almost made it five in a row and topped 100,000 cases in all. And South Carolina (1,008) exceeded 1,000 cases for nearly five consecutive days.
This anomaly in the data reminds me of the inexplicably low cases reported by ADPH between June 1-4, which later turned out to be caused by a “computer glitch.” I am not suggesting Alabama again is using a computer that does not compute. Still, it’s not clear why we might be immune from the upward trend affecting our neighboring states.
One possible explanation: the number of tests performed in the state (4,432 - below our average daily tests of 6,627) dropped for the 5th consecutive day. This decrease in testing happens to coincide with anecdotal reports that the state has run out of rapid point-of-care tests, which may have caused a multi-day delay in test results. I’ve been unable to locate any public confirmation by ADPH that the rapid tests are no longer available.
In all likelihood, our four-day decline in new cases is simply a momentary lull. All we can do is stay out of its way, follow expert advice and use our individual bullhorns to urge our friends and acquaintances to do the same. Here are today’s totals:
6/9 - 497
6/10 - 567
6/11 - 856
6/12 - 865
6/13 - 891
6/14 - 1,041
6/15 - 657
6/16 - 640
6/17 - 400
6/18 - 894
6/19 - 796
6/20 - 547
6/21 - 472
6/22 - 433
It should be noted that Jefferson Co.(83) has seen a recent spike, with more than 80 cases for the third day out of the last four. Montgomery Co. saw 39 cases and Lee Co. was third with 29 cases.