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 reported, and in July there were 605 COVID-19 deaths, the most recorded in any month since the pandemic began. This summer, Alabama’s death count from the disease skyrocketed after periods of relatively flat daily death counts.
But Tuesday’s jump in single day reported deaths was the result of a delay in the process of collecting and reviewing necessary medical records, laboratory data and other information, and not a reflection of an overall increase in deaths, said Dr. Karen Landers with the Alabama Department of Public Health, in a message to APR on Tuesday.
The daily number of new confirmed COVID-19 cases, and the state’s seven-and 14-day averages of news cases, have been on the decline since late July, but daily testing numbers have been all over the map from day to day. The state’s seven-day average of new daily tests was at 8,611 on Tuesday, after five straight days in late July when the state was recording seven-day averages of new daily tests of more than 10,000.
ADPH on Monday announced that software vendor problems had thrown off some of the department’s COVID-19 testing numbers, and that the problem had been fixed and some lab data was being inputted into the system.
Meanwhile, ADPH on July 31 said the state was experiencing a rash of problems surrounding COVID-19 testing that was resulting in an average of seven days to get results, which public health experts have said renders the results nearly worthless.
The department said the lengthier turnaround time for test results is due to supply chain problems with test reagents, more demand for coronavirus tests nationwide, “and in some cases, increased numbers of unnecessary tests.”
ADPH spokesman Ryan Easterling, in a response to APR’s questions about the fluctuating daily test numbers, on Tuesday wrote in a message that many factors affect both the reporting and result times for COVID-19 tests, and that multiple entities are conducting coronavirus testing in Alabama, including commercial laboratories, clinical laboratories and ADPH’s one lab. Some doctor’s offices, urgent cares, hospital emergency rooms and Long Term Care facilities are also conducting rapid COVID-19 tests, he said.
“Some new laboratories or entities who have previously not been accustomed to reporting notifiable disease results are having to report, which requires their understanding the requirements and methods of electronic reporting,” Easterling said. “Ongoing supply chain issues, such as reagents and consumables necessary for testing, occur periodically and reduce turn around for testing.”
COVID-19 hospitalizations statewide have remained high since the state hit a record 1,642 hospitalized coronavirus patients on July 30. On Tuesday, there were 1,506 hospitalized COVID-19 patients across Alabama, ADPH reported, and the state’s seven-day average of hospitalizations was at 1,553 which was just slightly below the record high of 1,590 on Aug. 2.
The percent of COVID-19 tests that are positive – a sign that helps determine the current extent of the spread of the disease – began to dip slightly at the start of August, but it remains well above the five percent positivity rate that public health experts say it needs to be to ensure enough testing is being done and cases aren’t going undetected.
Alabama’s 14-day average of percent positivity on Tuesday was 16 percent, down from 18 percent a week before.
Gov. Kay Ivey issued a statewide mask order on July 15, and it can take weeks before seeing whether such a requirement is having an impact on the spread of the virus, public health officials have said.
There’s concern, however, that as the state’s K-12 schools and universities continue to reopen in the coming days, outbreaks could pop up across the state, sparking another wave of new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
