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Chip Brownlee

Chip Brownlee is a former political reporter, online content manager and webmaster at the Alabama Political Reporter. He is now a reporter at The Trace, a non-profit newsroom covering guns in America.

News / Health / State

Tuscaloosa mayor: “We have entered into a danger zone” as hospitalizations rise

While Montgomery County and the River Region of Central Alabama remain the top area of concern for state officials responding to COVID-19, Tuscaloosa County is showing signs of a worsening outbreak as cases and hospitalizations spike. “We have entered into a danger zone,” said Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox in an interview. “And if we continue … Continued
May 29, 2020

Alabama includes antibody test results in total test counts

The Alabama Department of Public Health is combining some antibody test results with diagnostic test results in its total tested count on the state’s public coronavirus dashboard, potentially complicating the picture of the virus’s spread. Alabama State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris said Thursday that some antibody test results have been included in the state’s … Continued
May 28, 2020

Alabama health officer: More testing doesn’t account for spike in cases

Alabama State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris said Thursday that the spike in new COVID-19 cases over the last two weeks is not totally attributable to increased testing and that the Alabama Department of Public Health believes there is ongoing, widespread community transmission of the virus. “We’re extraordinarily concerned about the numbers that we have … Continued
May 28, 2020

“We’re surging:” Alabama reports largest COVID-19 increases to date

Alabama saw its largest single-day increase in new COVID-19 cases Monday, according to the state, as daily case counts continue an upward trend and hospitals across the state report increasing hospitalizations. Alabama blew past 15,000 confirmed cases of the virus on Monday, according to the Department of Public Health’s daily case count. The state had … Continued
May 26, 2020

New COVID cases in Alabama increasing faster than 46 other states

Alabama reported more cases of COVID-19 last week than any other week since the pandemic began, and the increase in new cases reported last week compared to the previous week was higher than 46 other states and the District of Columbia. An analysis of data collected by The COVID Tracking Project, a volunteer-run effort to … Continued
May 25, 2020

Amid the pandemic, a campaign adapts

He stepped up to the podium, an American flag behind his right shoulder, an Alabama flag to his left. These briefings are much like any other press conference the senator has given since he took office in January 2018, except these are streamed on Facebook Live, and Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama wore a camouflage … Continued
May 24, 2020

Sen. Doug Jones: COVID-19 relief should not be a partisan issue

Sen. Doug Jones, D-Alabama, said Friday during a live-streamed press conference that the Senate should begin debating the next COVID-19 relief package, and Republicans in Congress should stop playing partisan politics with urgently needed COVID-19 relief. “That bill is not perfect at all. There are a number of things in there that I don’t think … Continued
May 22, 2020

Alabama’s unemployment rate jumps to 12.9 percent

Alabama’s unemployment rate has surged almost 10 percentage points over the past two months to nearly 13 percent, the Alabama Department of Labor said Friday, another sign of the economic toll caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Labor Secretary Fitzgerald Washington said Alabama’s preliminary, seasonally adjusted April unemployment rate is 12.9 percent, which is up from … Continued
May 22, 2020

Alabama reopens entertainment venues; sporting events can soon resume

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Thursday said more business — including entertainment venues like arcades, theaters and bowling alleys — can reopen starting Friday. At a press conference Thursday, Ivey announced an amended “safer-at-home” order that allows entertainment venues to reopen, athletic activities to resume and educational institutions to reopen in the near future. The … Continued
May 21, 2020