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SPLC joins ACLU of Alabama in request for plans to protect jails, prisons from COVID-19

Civil rights groups are demanding that action is taken to protect people in jails and prisons, who are vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19.  The Southern Poverty Law Center on Tuesday called for the federal government and officials in Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida to protect those facilities through evidence-based protocols and to “release those people … Continued
March 17, 2020

Shelby County student tests positive for COVID-19

A Shelby County student has tested positive for COVID-19, the school system announced in a letter to parents Monday.  Shelby County Schools superintendent Lewis Brooks in the letter wrote that students attending Oak Mountain Intermediate and Oak Mountain Elementary may have been exposed to COVID-19 through contact with the student.  School officials weren’t certain when … Continued
March 17, 2020

Roby updates constituents on COVID-19 situation

Monday, Congresswoman Martha Roby (R-Montgomery) provided guidance to constituents on the COVID-19 global pandemic that is spreading rapidly across our state and nation. “As our country moves forward with addressing the challenges associated with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), it is incumbent upon my office to provide the people of Alabama’s Second Congressional District with the … Continued
March 17, 2020

Birmingham City Schools employee tests positive for COVID-19

Birmingham City Schools said Monday that a central office employee has tested positive for coronavirus. The notification comes as at least 17 people in the county have tested positive for the virus. Public health officials in the county believe there is community transmission of the virus, meaning there could be many more cases in the … Continued
March 16, 2020

Jefferson County to close private schools, ban large gatherings and prohibit dine-in at restaurants, bars

Jefferson County, Alabama’s largest county, is banning gatherings of 25 or more, closing senior centers, banning visitors to nursing homes, and closing private schools until April 6. “I would not have considered this two days ago,” said Jefferson County Commission president Jimmie Stephens, speaking at a press conference Monday. Restaurants, bars and breweries are restricted … Continued
March 16, 2020

Coronavirus testing still lagging in Alabama, expert says

Testing for COVID-19 in Alabama remains slow, due in part to inadequate capacity in the state’s lab to run the tests, and it’s a problem mirrored across the country, says an infectious disease expert in Birmingham.  Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, head of infectious diseases at University of Alabama at Birmingham, said during a press conference Monday … Continued
March 16, 2020

Closure of rural hospitals places Alabama at disadvantage in COVID fight

Whether Alabama’s health care system will be able to handle the coronavirus pandemic will depend on its people. The infectious disease specialist leading the UAB Medicine’s response to the coronavirus outbreak urged Alabamians to take social-distancing measures seriously to blunt the exponential growth of coronavirus cases in the state so as to not overload health … Continued
March 16, 2020

Alabama hospital worker tests positive for coronavirus

An employee at East Alabama Medical Center in Lee County has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, a state health official said Monday.  The positive test was added Sunday evening to the Alabama Department of Public Health’s website, but the hospital announced Monday the person was a staff member.  State health officer Dr. Scott Harris … Continued
March 16, 2020