Alabama Department of Public Health

Things appear to be improving in Jefferson County, but it is too early to know, the top health official in the state’s largest county said Friday. The county has experienced a slower rate of growth in new COVID-19 cases in recent days, and the number of hospitalizations is down to 40 at UAB Medicine, the … Continued

The federal government on Wednesday said it had resolved an investigation into an Alabama’s policy regarding triage of pandemic patients and use of ventilators that a federal agency called “discriminatory” against those with intellectual disabilities and older people.  The U.S. Office of Civil Rights in a statement Wednesday said the Alabama Department of Public Health … Continued

A federal judge on Monday heard testimony during the first hearing following the judge’s temporary restraining order last week, which temporarily barred Alabama from prohibiting abortions during the novel coronavirus outbreak. U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson heard testimony from Alabama State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris and Dr. Yashika Robinson, the named plaintiff in the … Continued

Alabama on Saturday started publicly reporting the number of people hospitalized because of COVID-19 on its data dashboard. As of Monday morning, 240 people have been hospitalized since March 13, according to that data. The day before ADPH began publishing the number of cumulative hospitalizations on its dashboard, I reported that 255 people were hospitalized … Continued

The Alabama Department of Public Health is investigating and performing contact-tracing in Chambers County as the number of COVID-19 cases in the county made another jump Thursday. The number of positive confirmed cases in the county has nearly doubled in the past two days, rising from 36 on March 31 to 66 on April 2. … Continued

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, State Health Officer Scott Harris, Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield, Public Health Commissioner Lynn Beshear and Alabama National Guard Major General Sheryl Gordon briefed state legislators Monday about how the state intends to address the looming wave of COVID-19 cases as the virus spread across the state of Alabama virtually unchecked. Ivey … Continued

Montgomery County has had its first death from COVID-19, according to Monique Smith with the Alabama Emergency Management Agency.  Smith confirmed to APR by phone Monday that a person from Montgomery County, who had tested positive for COVID-19, has died, and that she is waiting for the Alabama Department of Public Health to confirm the … Continued

Over the last week, the number of COVID-19 cases in the state of Alabama grew faster than 43 other states and the District of Columbia. Only seven states saw their total confirmed cases increase more rapidly than Alabama, according to data from the COVID Tracking Project. The number of positive cases confirmed by lab tests … Continued

UPDATE: East Alabama Medical Center said Sunday that its death toll has increased to six. [visual-link-preview encoded=”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”] Five patients who were being treated for COVID-19 at East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika, Alabama, have died since Friday, the hospital said in a statement Saturday. “Our hospital family expresses its collective condolences to the families of … Continued