University of Alabama head football coach Nick Saban and UAB hospital have an important reminder for the public: STAY HOME.
Medical experts are pleading with community members to stay home and keep your kids at home. Meanwhile, hospitals in the state are seeing a spike in patients being hospitalized for the virus.
UAB continues to remind the public that to protect the state’s hospitals and medical workers, the best thing you can do to protect yourself and those in your community is to stay home. You should limit physical contact with friends, family members and strangers.
Do not let your children have play dates with others, do not use communal structures like public playgrounds and do not go places that are not necessary.
If you do leave, remember to keep a six-foot distance from others and wash your hands after touching surfaces other people may have touched.
If you have questions about where to get tested, if you need to be tested or anything else related to the novel coronavirus, call the Alabama Department of Public Health. The ADPH has two hotlines set up to answer general questions and provide information about how and where to get tested.
For testing sites and hours of operation, call the Alabama COVID-19 24/7 hotline at 1-888-264-2256. For general COVID-19 questions, call 1-800-270-7268 or email covid19info@adph.state.al.us. Calls are answered from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
If you have COVID-19 symptoms, you should first call your primary health care provider or urgent care facility. Do not visit any health care facility without first calling ahead. Hospitals have limited resources, and unless you are seriously ill, your health care provider will likely ask you to stay home and self-quarantine.
Hospitals also desperately need blood donations.
Healthcare leaders, including the surgeon general and those from the CDC, urge those who are healthy to donate.
Contact the Red Cross to find out where you can donate and to schedule an appointment. Donors can give blood up to six times a year, every eight weeks. The process takes about 45 minutes and the actual blood collection takes less than 20.
