October 21, 2020 - What Goes Around ...
What Goes Around ...
October 21, 2020
The pandemic struck home in Alabama today as Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth announced he has tested positive for COVID-19. This is the same Will Ainsworth who complained bitterly about the mask order implemented by Governor Ivey. It is an echo of what has happened at the national level, when President Trump was hospitalized for COVID-19 after mocking the precautions recommended by his own Coronavirus Task Force. What goes around tends to come around.
Our State reported 1,146 new cases and 7,946 tests, a 14.4% one-day positivity rate. This compares to our statewide 7-day rolling average of 16.53%, a slight improvement that is nothing to brag about. After all, 14 consecutive days of (below) 5% positivity rate is the world standard for opening an economy, according to the World Health Organization.
Hospitalizations remained remarkably steady - 863 statewide patients from 110 reporting hospitals, compared to 843 from 105 hospitals yesterday. Sadly, there were 23 more deaths caused by COVID-19 in Alabama, taking our overall total to 2,828, which is almost 4 times the number of Alabama veterans who died in the Vietnam War (741) and almost 60% of Alabama’s mortalities during World War II.
This pandemic is approaching 8 months in duration and I have reported on it for almost 6 months. When I began this journey, I hoped that more progress would have been made by now. It is depressing to report on 1,000+ cases day after day and 20 or more deaths every single day. I sometimes wonder if the world will ever get back to normal. What keeps me going is the realization that the human spirit is optimistic at its core. We are all in this together and we will get through it together. One day at a time. The totals:
10/8 - 557
10/9 - 1490
10/10- 1061
10/11 - 816
10/12 - 734
10/13 - 1117
10/14 - 784
10/15 - 1185
10/16 - 1212
10/17 -1288
10/18 - 964
10/19 - 859
10/20 -1043
10/21 -1146