Health

More than 1,200 COVID-19 cases in Alabama long-term care facilities

More than 1,200 long-term care facility residents and employees in Alabama have tested positive for COVID-19, the Alabama Department of Public Health reported Sunday. At least 770 residents and 496 employees have tested positive, according to the latest data. The cases in these long-term care facilities, which include both nursing homes and assisted-living facilities, account … Continued

Chip Brownlee

May 3, 2020

Sixth Alabama inmate, 16th prison worker tests positive for COVID-19

A sixth inmate in Alabama prisons has tested positive for COVID-19, and three more prison workers as well, the Alabama Department of Corrections said Friday evening. A man serving at Easterling Correctional Facility in Clio tested positive at a local hospital where he was being treated for “advanced, non-COVID-19 related medical conditions that were considered … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

May 2, 2020

Jones asks for clarity on COVID-19 loan forgiveness for small businesses

U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, D-Alabama, and Sen. Tim Scott, R-South Carolina, on Friday called for clarity on loan forgiveness for small businesses that received coronavirus-related grants through the Paycheck Protection Program. “On Monday, April 27, the second round of funding began to help support our small businesses. However, the terms for forgiveness were and continue … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

May 1, 2020

Preliminary data: Fewer COVID-19 racial disparities in Jefferson County

Preliminary data from the Jefferson County Health Department released Friday shows that African-Americans in Alabama’s largest county are not dying from COVID-19 in disproportionate numbers — unlike the state as a whole and many other cities across the country. Of Jefferson County’s deaths so far, according to the data released Friday, 40 percent of those … Continued

Chip Brownlee

May 1, 2020

FDA grants “emergency use authorization” for UAB-developed drug to treat COVID-19

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday issued an “emergency use authorization” for the drug remdesivir to treat COVID-19 patients, a fast-tracked approval of a drug that early clinical trial results show can speed recovery. In a letter Friday to Gilead Sciences, the California-based drug-maker that owns the rights to the drug, the FDA … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

May 1, 2020

Jones calls for “Paycheck Security Act” to save workers’ salaries and health care

Sen. Doug Jones, D-Alabama, and three other Democratic senators in a call with reporters Friday said their “Paycheck Security Act” would save American workers’ paychecks and existing healthcare, and keep the businesses that hire them afloat amid the COVID-19 crisis. The plan would cover wages and benefits of furloughed or laid-off workers at businesses and … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

May 1, 2020

Health care workers on front lines during COVID-19 crisis

Alabamians just finished an entire month under a shelter in place order put in place by Gov. Kay Ivey (R) to protect them from contracting the coronavirus strain, SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19. Over a million of our countrymen have been infected with the virus. 5,151 died from COVID-19 in March. 58,720 died in April alone, … Continued

Brandon Moseley

May 1, 2020

Fifth inmate, two more workers test positive for COVID-19 in crowded Alabama prisons

An inmate at the Bibb Correctional Institution and two prison workers at other facilities have tested positive for COVID-19, the Alabama Department of Corrections said in a late-evening press release at 8:58 p.m. Thursday. The man tested positive for coronavirus at a local hospital, where he is being treated for a separate medical condition, ADOC … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

April 30, 2020

Advocates: Alabama Supreme Court, release children in detention facilities

An advocacy group for Alabama children on Thursday asked the Alabama Supreme Court to release children in detention facilities due to the COVID-19 outbreak. In the petition to the court the Children and Youth Advocacy Network, made up of the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program and the law firm of Blume … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

April 30, 2020

Alabama Supreme Court extends suspension of in-person hearings amid COVID-19

The Alabama Supreme Court on Thursday issued an order extending a suspension of all in-person court proceedings through May 15 in response to COVID-19. The state Supreme Court previously issued an order March 13 suspending all in-person court hearings for a month. Thursday’s order from the court extends the suspension to match Gov. Kay Ivey’s … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

April 30, 2020