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More than 800,000 Alabamians lived in poverty before the COVID-19 crisis, report finds

More than 800,000 Alabamians, 256,000 of them children, were living below the federal poverty level before the COVID-19 crisis and more than 400,000 lost their jobs statewide, according to a report released Thursday.   Poverty statewide has decreased by 2.4 percentage points since a peak of 19.2 percent in 2014, but Alabama’s poverty rate of 16.8 … Continued
May 21, 2020

CDC issues new guidelines for schools reopening

Most Alabama children have not seen the inside of a school building since March 13. When schools reopen in early August, if schools reopen, much will be different about school as we know it. On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released guidelines on on how schools should reopen in the fall. … Continued
May 21, 2020

COVID-19 cases among prison workers reach 36

Two more prison workers have tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total of confirmed cases among staff to 36 across 16 state facilities, the Alabama Department of Corrections announced Wednesday.  A worker at the Camden Community Based Facility and Community Work Center in Camden and an employee at the Birmingham Community Based Facility and Community … Continued
May 20, 2020

Montgomery hospitals are out of ICU beds, mayor says

Some of the River Region’s major hospitals have run out of intensive care beds and others only have one or two beds left, Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed said Wednesday at a press conference in Alabama’s capital city. “Right now, if you’re from Montgomery, and you need an ICU bed, you’re in trouble,” Reed said. “If … Continued
May 20, 2020

ACLU of Alabama calls for more paroles during COVID-19 crisis

The ACLU of Alabama on Tuesday called on the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles to begin releasing inmates amid the COVID-19 outbreak.  The Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles (ABPP) on Tuesday held the bureau’s first parole hearings since the COVID-19 crisis began, and denied parole for 20 out of the 22 eligible people.  … Continued
May 20, 2020

Ten more COVID-19 cases at state’s Mary Starke Harper Geriatric Psychiatric Center

Ten more patients at the Mary Starke Harper Geriatric Psychiatric Center have tested positive for coronavirus.  Alabama Department of Mental Health spokeswoman Malissa Valdes-Hubert in a message to APR on Tuesday said there were 18 confirmed cases of the virus at the facility, which cares for elderly patients who are at more risk of serious … Continued
May 19, 2020

We weren’t ready for mental, physical toll of COVID-19, experts say — and it’s not over yet

When Dr. Ken Duckworth learned that a reporter interviewing him was from Alabama, the first thing he thought of was college football.  “The absence of college football is not a mental health problem, but it takes away one of my favorite things in life,” said Duckworth, chief medical officer at the National Alliance on Mental … Continued
May 19, 2020

Will in-person graduation ceremonies pose a risk?

After Alabama relaxed rules last week that limited crowds to 10 people or less to prevent the spread of COVID-19, multiple schools are now planning to hold in-person graduation ceremonies.  Gatherings of any size are now allowed as long as people from different households stay at least 6 feet apart. Jefferson County Health Officer Dr. … Continued
May 18, 2020