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Black people over-represented among COVID-19 patients, deaths, UAB doctor says

Contrary to rumors, black people aren’t immune to the COVID-19 virus, and in some places in the U.S., black people are not only getting the deadly virus in larger numbers but are more likely to die from it, said a physician at University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Selwyn Vickers, Dean of UAB School of … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

April 4, 2020

What you need to know about Alabama’s stay-at-home order

Gov. Kay Ivey and the Alabama Department of Public Health issued a statewide stay-at-home order Friday. Here’s what you need to know. What is the bottom line? Stay at home if at all possible. “The default position for everyone is they need to stay at home. We need to stay at home if at all … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

April 4, 2020

Alabama Power working with UAB, Alabama Productivity Center to aid health care workers

Families across the state are under a stay-at-home order. Imagine a family of four stuck at home. Mom and Dad go to the garage to clean the clutter of boxes that have accumulated over the years, they turn on the lights, they don’t even think about where the energy came from, it’s automatic. A teenage … Continued

Bill Britt

April 4, 2020

Opinion

It’s make or break time: The math behind social distancing

John Atkinson is the public relations and marketing director at East Alabama Medical Center. On March 31, EAMC’s Chief of Staff Michael Roberts, M.D. used the Penn Medicine CHIME tool to look at where East Alabama Medical Center—and its collective communities—stand regarding the COVID-19 coronavirus and social distancing. After sharing the resulting data with his … Continued

John Atkinson

April 4, 2020

Federal law strengthens food stamps during COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has left thousands of Alabamians without work and in desperate need of food assistance, and the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act signed into law in March strengthened food assistance just as the public is being told to stay home to prevent the virus’s spread. Alabama Arise, a statewide nonprofit that advocates … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

April 4, 2020

840 hospitalized with confirmed, suspected COVID-19 in Alabama

More than 800 people are hospitalized in Alabama with a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. State Health Officer Scott Harris said Friday evening that 255 people are hospitalized with a confirmed positive case of the virus. An additional 586 people are hospitalized with a suspected case of … Continued

Chip Brownlee

April 3, 2020

Alabama may need 2,500 more ventilators. It’s having to compete to get them

Alabama may need 2,000 more ventilators than it has, and it’s being forced to compete with other states to get them on the private market. State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris said Friday that the Alabama Department of Public Health is attempting to source its own ventilators as a number of hospitals in the state … Continued

Chip Brownlee

April 3, 2020

Governor: More than 200 health care workers infected with COVID-19

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said Friday at a press conference that 200 health care workers in the state have contracted COVID-19. The governor reported that number while announcing a new statewide stay-at-home order that will go into effect on Saturday, April 4, at 5 p.m. It will remain in effect until April 30. “Those people … Continued

Chip Brownlee

April 3, 2020

Alabama nursing homes struggle to get COVID-19 tests, results

There are more than 1,000 outstanding COVID-19 tests among Alabama nursing home residents and staff, and many homes are having difficulty getting the tests, according to the Alabama Nursing Home Association. John Matson, communications director for the Alabama Nursing Home Association, told APR on Friday that the association is asking the Center for Disease Control … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

April 3, 2020

Alabama institutions of higher learning respond to COVID-19 pandemic

Thursday, the Alabama Commission on Higher Education reported that throughout Alabama higher education is responding to the call for help during the Coronavirus pandemic. The support has been widespread from food supplies to equipment needs. “I am heartened by the generosity of college and university staff and students in supporting their community, hospitals and healthcare … Continued

Brandon Moseley

April 3, 2020