November 7, 2020 - Five Straight Days of 1,000+ Fatalities
Five Straight Days of 1,000+ Fatalities
November 7, 2020
During election week in the United States, these are the daily case counts, rounded to the nearest thousand: 11/1 - 77,000; 11/2 - 89,000; 11/3 - 95,000; 11/4 - 109,000; 11/5 - 124,000; 11/6 - 133,000. That’s what a pandemic looks like when it lurches out of control and our national leaders do nothing to slow it down.
We can still win the battle against this virus. So far, we haven’t even tried. When it comes to fighting a deadly pandemic, I believe leadership matters. Science matters.
In Alabama, there were 1,768 new cases reported today (incl 441 probables). Daily cases in our State have topped 1,000 on 11 of the last 12 days, and the daily average this week was 1,456 per day. With 8,920 tests reported today, our one-day positivity rate is 19.8%. The positivity rate for the week is 19.3%, which again stands as the highest in the Southeast and 6th in the nation.
Deaths are a lagging statistic. With a 5th consecutive day of 1,000+ fatalities today, our country matches a streak that hasn’t occurred since mid-August. Alabama added 33 more deaths to its total today, the highest total in nearly 2 weeks and the 5th highest daily total since September 1.
At the granular level, only 2 Alabama counties have 14-day positivity rates below 13% - Lee (12.27%) and Bullock (12.31%), while 42 of our 67 counties have rates over 20%. Here are the rates for our 10 most populous counties in ascending order - Lee (12.27%); Madison (13.18%); Tuscaloosa (13.38%); Baldwin (14.86%); Mobile (15.07%&); Jefferson (15.49%); Montgomery (19.01%); Shelby (19.6%); Calhoun (21.57%); Morgan (27.95%). The 4 counties with the State’s worst infection rates are all located in north Alabama - Lamar (31.1%); DeKalb (33.6%); Cullman (34.3%); and Franklin (36.5%). Any positivity rate over 5% is prima facie evidence that the virus is spreading, according to the World Health Organization.
Finally, there are now 1,015 COVID patients in 97 reporting hospitals statewide. That compares with 1,022 in 104 reporting hospitals yesterday. Hospitalizations have been ticking up gradually since early October but not at a pace that was commensurate with the rise in cases. Jefferson County reported another 257 cases today, the highest number since this summer, while Madison County reported 13 cases, Tuscaloosa County 116 and Shelby County 92. As these populous counties see more and more cases, it would be surprising if hospitalizations do not soon follow suit. The totals:
10/25 -1079
10/26 - 967
10/27- 1115
10/28 -1269
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