Health

Inmate at Alabama prison for aged and infirmed tests positive for COVID-19

An inmate at the Hamilton Aged & Infirmed facility has tested positive for COVID-19, becoming the 8th Alabama inmate to have tested positive for the virus, and a staff member at Holman Correctional Facility has also tested positive for the virus. The man, who has preexisting medical conditions, was taken to a local hospital after … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

May 6, 2020

State finance director recommended waiting to debate state budgets

Alabama’s finance director said that he recommended to Gov. Kay Ivey and to the Alabama Legislature that they wait to debate the state’s budgets until there was more information about the impact COVID-19 was having on Alabama’s economy and the government’s tax revenues. But lawmakers made the decision to move forward with the budgets. Most … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

May 6, 2020

ACLU of Alabama: Test Mobile County Jail inmates, not just workers

The ACLU of Alabama on Tuesday expressed concern that, while Mobile County Jail staff will be tested for COVID-19 following an outbreak of the virus there, inmates will not. Mobile County Sheriff Sam Cochran and Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson on Tuesday announced that after 38 inmates and 30 staff tested positive for COVID-19 a decision … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

May 5, 2020

State superintendent says challenges await when students return to class

Alabama State Superintendent Eric Mackey said Tuesday that as public schools plan to reopen for in-person instruction in the fall, school nurses could play a critical role in slowing the spread of the COVID-19 virus that shuttered them. Mackey, speaking with reporters and members of the Alabama House Democratic Caucus in a webinar session Tuesday, said … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

May 5, 2020

AlabamaWorks business survey shows pandemic’s impact

Nearly 1,800 business owners across the state participated in the Alabama COVID-19 Workforce Response Survey. Developed by AlabamaWorks, the survey results provide an in-depth look at the pandemic’s impact on Alabama’s employers and will, ultimately, help determine how private industry and state government together can best support the economy and get people back to work. … Continued

May 5, 2020

Alabama lab authorized by FDA to do widespread COVID-19 testing

Golden Point Scientific Labs of Hoover has doubled its testing capacity and received FDA authorization to conduct widespread testing for COVID-19, giving health providers and community organizations a new alternative to identify those who have been exposed to the virus. Golden Point Scientific Labs will partner with a range of agencies and providers to offer … Continued

May 5, 2020

National Federation of Independent Business wants changes to Paycheck Protection Program

A Tennessee-based nonprofit advocacy group for small businesses on Monday asked the federal government to make changes to the Paycheck Protection Program, which provides loans to COVID-19-impacted small businesses. The National Federation of Independent Business in a letter to the U.S. Small Business Administration and the U.S. Treasury Department on Monday recommended several changes the … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

May 5, 2020

Seventh Alabama inmate tests positive for COVID-19

An inmate at the St. Clair Correctional Facility has tested positive for COVID-19, becoming the seventh state inmate to test positive for the virus, the Alabama Department of Corrections announced late Monday. The man tested positive “while he was at a local hospital where he received care for a non-COVID-19 related preexisting medical condition,” ADOC’s … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

May 4, 2020

Widely cited model projects eightfold increase to Alabama death toll

The COVID-19 model that has been widely cited by officials in Alabama and the White House’s coronavirus task force has been updated again, delivering a dire new projection that Alabama could see an eight-fold increase to its death toll by August and a new peak by late June or early July. But for Alabama, in … Continued

Chip Brownlee

May 4, 2020

Long-term care facilities linked to nearly 40 percent of Alabama COVID-19 deaths

Nearly 40 percent of Alabama’s COVID-19 deaths have been among long-term care facility residents. As of Monday, 107 long-term care facility residents have died from the virus, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health. The 107 reported deaths among long-term care facility residents account for 36.1 percent of the state’s 296 COVID-19 deaths, as … Continued

Chip Brownlee

May 4, 2020