September 11, 2020 - 70 Straight Days of 9/11 Attacks
70 Straight Days of 9/11 Attacks
September 11, 2020
At 8:46 a.m. on September 11, 2001, American Airlines Flight 11 flew into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Seventeen minutes later, United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower. Later that morning, it was the Pentagon. Then, the brave passengers of another plane took it down in a field in Shanksville, Pa. before it could be used as a fourth deadly weapon.
2,977 people died that day. They were citizens of 58 countries and 2,624 of them were Americans.
Nineteen years later, we are confronting another crisis with a relentless enemy. Since our first death on February 28 - 196 days ago - 196,328 Americans have perished from COVID-19, according to worldometers.info. That is the equivalent of 1,000 deaths per day, every day, for over 6 months. In just the last three days alone, 2,794 Americans have died, which is more than all the American casualties on 9/11.
It’s as if we have suffered 70 days of 9/11 attacks during the last 6+ months, yet our country’s response has not been the same. Spurred by 9/11, the U.S. led a global effort to combat terrorism that spanned three administrations from different political parites. In contrast, we have failed to unite against this invisible virus - even the simple act of covering one’s nose and mouth in public has somehow been turned into a divisive symbol. This is no way to defeat a global pandemic.
Today, Alabama reported 1,138 new cases (incl. 308 probables) and 4,876 tests. After two days of more than 5,000 tests, it is disappointing to see tests fall below that number again today. Our average positivity rate stands at 15.58%, just below both Dakotas and Kansas. We also saw 32 more deaths (incl. 4 probables).
Colleges are the new hotspots, just as nursing homes and meat-packing plants used to be. So far, American colleges have recorded over 88,000 cases since the pandemic began. A new study of hospital patients challenges the notion that young people are impervious, finding that among 3,222 young adults hospitalized with Covid-19, 88 died — about 2.7 percent - while 20% required intensive care, and 10% needed a ventilator to assist with breathing.
This report underscores the importance of the UA System’s efforts to bring the virus under control on its campuses. This afternoon, the System released its weekly data and the news was good, especially in Tuscaloosa where there were 294 reported cases, as compared to 846 last week. In addition, there were 27 cases at UAB and 11 at UAH. Here are the 14-day statewide totals:
8/29 - 1,704
8/30 - 1,346
8/31 - 823
9/1 - 1,558
9/2 - 623
9/3 - 1,046
9/4 - 1,108
9/5 - 1,410
9/6 - 511
9/7 - 659
9/8 - 633
9/9 - 811
9/10 - 1,148
9/11 - 1,138
Jefferson County had 172 cases (incl. 28 probables) while Lee County had 125 cases (incl. 100 probables). Madison County was third with 92 cases (incl. 19 probables).