October 27, 2020 - 1,000 Alabama Patients
1,000 Alabama Patients
October 27, 2020
The United States reported more than 74,000 new cases on Monday, pushing the daily average over the last week above 71,000, the most during any 7-day stretch of the pandemic. More than 20 states are reporting case counts at or near record levels, including Pennsylvania, which set a single-day record of 2,492 on Monday. A field hospital has been organized at the Wisconsin state fairgrounds to accept hospital overflows. And North Carolina reported 231 deaths over the past week, a new record.
Here in Alabama, cases are also rising and confirmed hospitalizations topped 1,000 for the first time since August 31. There were 1,115 new cases (incl 377 probables) and just 5,195 tests, translating to a one-day positivity rate of 16.5%. Over the last 7 days, Alabama has averaged 973 tests per 100K population, ranking 48th in the nation in per capita testing. According to Johns Hopkins, our 7-day rolling average positivity rate is 24.87%, while BamaTracker puts the rolling average at 22.58%. If the positive cases attributable to tests performed last summer are excluded, the positivity rate is 18.53%.
With 1,001 current patients reportedly in 104 hospitals (up from 967 in 106 hospitals yesterday), Alabama has crossed a milestone that we haven't seen in nearly 3 months. To illustrate how quickly this virus can take hold, Alabama first hit 1,000 hospitalizations on July 6. Only two weeks later - July 20 - there were 1,571 hospitalized COVID patients in our State. The number topped out at 1,613 on August 6 before tumbling to 1,000 again by the end of August. This new wave of hospitalizations could accelerate even more rapidly because we never really emerged from the last wave. Therefore, it would not be surprising to see hospitalizations top 1,600 again early next month.
5% of North Dakotans have now tested positive, the highest percentage of any state in the nation. In Alabama, which is 5th in the nation in per capita cases, 3.77% of the population has tested positive, resulting in 2,866 deaths. For herd immunity to occur, epidemiologists estimate that a minimum of 60% of a population must become infected - almost 16 times the number of Alabamians who have been infected so far. If the national strategy is to do nothing, wave the white flag, and wait for herd immunity to kick in, ask yourself if you are prepared to see 45,000-50,000 of our fellow Alabama citizens die from this disease - 16 times the number who have died thus far.
10/14 - 784
10/15 - 1185
10/16 -1212
10/17 -1288
10/18 - 964
10/19 - 859
10/20 -1043
10/21 -1146
10/22 -1390
10/23 -1287
10/24 -1178 - 1769
10/25 -1079
10/26 - 967
10/27- 1115
Jefferson led the way with 130 cases (incl 20 probables), followed by Shelby with 68 cases (incl 17 probables) and Mobile with 60 cases (incl 37 probables). 38 counties have 14-day positivity rates over 20%; 11 counties over 30% and 3 counties over 40%.