November 11, 2020 - The Value of Masks
The Value of Masks
November 11, 2020
Covid-19 hospitalizations in the United States hit an all-time high of 62,000 on Tuesday, and new daily cases passed 142,000 for the first time, as the pandemic continued to shatter record after record. The country has surpassed 100,000 cases for 8 straight days, pushing the daily average to more than 125,000 per day. Four states set single-day case records, while 34 states added more cases in the last week than in any prior seven-day stretch. With 1,440 more reported deaths, the 7-day average topped 1000 deaths for the first time since August 19.
Here in Alabama, our daily totals include (i) 2,070 cases (incl 702 probables), the highest level since August 2 (excluding 2 data dumps in October); (ii) 68 deaths, a new single-day record; (iii) 10,676 tests, well above the daily average of 7,100; and (iv) a single-day positivity rate of 19.4% and 7-day average of 21-24%, depending on the tracking service. ADPH released a notice that today’s death total is partially skewed by the fact that nearly half the reported deaths occurred weeks earlier. Also, beware that most local media will ignore the “probable” cases (positive cases diagnosed with an antigen test), so their positivity rates will again be distorted.
ADPH reported statewide hospitalizations of 1,171 today (108 hospitals), a decline of 24 patients from yesterday. DCH Health System now has 78 patients, its highest number since late July. Meanwhile, the head of the Alabama Hospital Assn stated that Alabama’s hospitals have just 206 available ICU beds, or 12 percent of the state’s entire supply. That’s the lowest number of available ICU beds since early August.
Turning to the State’s flagship universities, Auburn’s dashboard reflects 24 new student infections for the week, which seems low considering that 10 members of the football team are reportedly infected. Meanwhile, the UA System recorded 131 student infections and 125 among its faculty/staff. That is more than double last week’s faculty/staff totals (55). Much of this increase is attributable to UAB’s 17,500 clinical enterprise employees (primarily UAB Hospital), with 87 new infections, the highest weekly total since mid-August.
Finally, the CDC said on Tuesday that a protective mask benefits the wearer of the mask, which goes beyond its previous declaration that wearing masks only protects those around the wearer. The new document listed several studies that “have confirmed the benefit of universal masking,” as well as some observational studies, including one in which two masked hair stylists who had been experiencing symptoms but did not transmit the virus to any of their 67 masked clients. Here are the totals:
10/29 -1443
10/30 -1347
10/31 -1789
11/1 - 1700
11/2 - 907
11/3 - 1037
11/4 - 1848
11/5 - 1381
11/6 - 1556
11/7 - 1768
11/8 - 1205
11/9 - 1190
11/10 -1720
11/11 -2070
Jefferson County had another bad day with 282 cases, while Shelby County had 116 cases, Madison County 111 cases and Marshall County 110 cases. The number of counties with 14-day positivity rates below 15% has been reduced to 4, while 47 counties now have rates above 20%. Smaller counties with severe current outbreaks include Lauderdale (77); Cullman (70); Etowah (63); Jackson (63); and Colbert (42).