Alabama Department of Public Health

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Alabama public health officials concerned about COVID-19 and Labor Day weekend

Alabama’s COVID-19 numbers have improved some since Gov. Kay Ivey’s statewide mask order, but with Labor Day just ahead, state health officials fear if the public lets its guard down there could be a surge similar to what the state saw in July. Alabama State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris, speaking during a press briefing … Continued

September 2, 2020

Free drive-through tests offered in Jefferson, Tuscaloosa counties through Sept. 2

Any resident of Alabama, children included, can be tested for COVID-19 at three testing sites that are accepting appointments until the end of business hours on Sept. 2. There are no requirements other than being willing to drive to one of the sites, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health. One is in Tuscaloosa … Continued

August 28, 2020

U.S. surgeon general visits Alabama to usher in three new COVID-19 testing sites

U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams speaking in Hoover on Friday said Alabama is the only state on the White House’s COVID-19 map that’s in red, but that also has all the parameters moving in the right direction. Adams was speaking at the Riverchase Galleria in Hoover, one of three new COVID-19 testing sites in … Continued

August 21, 2020

Alabama Public Health warns against COVID-19 misinformation shared on social media

It was unclear Tuesday who made the chart or why, but it has been circulated so widely on social media in recent days that prominent infectious diseases doctors in the state took notice and began to issue warnings about its flawed assumptions.

August 18, 2020

COVID-19 exposure notification app now available to the public

Public health officials are hoping as many people as possible download a phone app that can notify them if they’ve been exposed to someone who’s tested positive for COVID-19. The more people who do so, the better the app can help slow the spread of the deadly disease, said Curtis Carver, UAB’s chief information officer, … Continued

August 17, 2020

Nearly 300 Alabamians have died of COVID-19 in the first weeks of August

The Alabama Department of Public Health over the weekend confirmed five additional deaths from COVID-19, raising the state’s death toll to 1,830. At least 299 of the deaths have been reported in the first half of August. The state of Alabama averaged 21 COVID-19 deaths per day through the first two weeks of August. In … Continued

August 14, 2020

Alabama’s spike in daily COVID-19 deaths Tuesday result of process delays

The Alabama Department of Public Health on Tuesday recorded 48 new COVID-19 deaths in the state, bringing the total number of coronavirus deaths over the last two weeks to 335, the third-highest two-week total since the start of the pandemic. In June, at least 296 Alabamians died from coronavirus, the Alabama Department of Public Health … Continued

August 11, 2020

Exposure notification app for college students launches pilot phase

College students across Alabama and anyone with a .edu email address are being invited to participate in an anonymous Exposure Notification System app for iPhone and Android users. The app launched in a closed pilot phase on Monday that will allow up to 10,000 downloads for each phone type. The app is part of the … Continued

August 3, 2020

Alabama’s testing labs “overwhelmed,” causing slow COVID-19 results

The Alabama Department of Public Health on Friday said that as Alabama continues to see an increase in the number of new COVID-19 cases, it’s taking commercial labs and ADPH’s lab an average of seven days to get results.

July 31, 2020

Gov. Kay Ivey’s coronavirus task force has met sparsely during pandemic

Ivey’s office says that throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Ivey and her staff have stayed in regular contact with State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris, Alabama Department of Public Health officials and other experts.

July 30, 2020