COVID-19 remains a major problem in the state of Alabama as at least 169 Alabamians have died in the first 13 days of September alone.
The number of deaths so far in September is down substantially from the first 13 days of August when 310 Alabamians died.
At least 602 Alabamians died in the month of August. The state averaged more than 19.4 deaths per day in August. But thus far in September, the state’s COVID-19 death rate has slowed to 13 deaths per day.
The rate of new COVID-19 deaths appears to be dropping along with COVID-19 hospitalizations. At least 790 Alabamians were hospitalized this weekend. That is down from 1,613 on Aug. 6 — a 51 percent decrease over the last five weeks.
The Alabama Department of Public Health reported 1,109 new cases of the coronavirus on Sunday. At least 138,755 Alabamians have been diagnosed with the novel strain of the coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2.
Alabama has had the fifth highest percentage of the population get infected with the coronavirus. 28,229 Alabamians out of a million have been infected with the virus. That translates into 2.82 percent of the state’s population becoming infected with the virus.
Despite the recent improvement, the state remains ninth in the total number of active cases with 82,181. The state of Alabama trails Texas by just 965 cases, even though Texas is a much larger state in population. Alabama is 13th in the total number of cases, 21st in total COVID-19 deaths and 20th in percent of the state population who have been killed by COVID-19. 479 Alabamians out of a million (.048 percent) have already died from COVID-19.
Over a million tests have been administered in the state of Alabama. ADPH reports that 6,881 tests were reported on Sunday, raising the total number of tests give to 1,010,227. Alabama is 25th in the number of tests given and is 39th in tests as a percentage of the population. 217,734 tests have been given in Alabama per million of the population. That translates in to 21.8 percent.
54,223 Alabamians have already recovered from their coronavirus diagnosis, the 22nd most in the country.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has declared a statewide public health emergency. The governor has imposed a “safer-at-home” order that runs into October and includes a statewide mask order. Public health officials are encouraging citizens to remember to social distance. Do not shake hands or hug anyone not from your own household. Stay safe and stay home as much as possible. When you have to go out, wear a mask and stay six feet apart from persons not in your household. Avoid large gatherings, avoid touching your face, wash your hands frequently and use hand sanitizer.
Globally, there have been more than 29 million diagnosed cases of the coronavirus since it was first detected in China in late 2019.
At least 928,281 people globally have died from COVID-19 including 198,521 Americans.
