The Alabama Department of Public Health reported 1,129 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, the most new cases in a single day since the start of the pandemic. The state reported just one death Thursday, after reporting a combined 48 over the previous two days.
There have now been 32,753 confirmed coronavirus cases in Alabama, and 880 deaths. The state also reports 453 probable cases and 16 probable deaths, which aren’t included in the total case counts.
The new cases bumped Alabama’s 7-day average back over 700, to 708.1, after it had dipped as low as 591.3 earlier this week. The rolling average is still lower than the record or 779, set last week. But that could soon change.
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Jefferson County, home of Birmingham, saw its largest single-day jump in cases to date. It added 145 new cases, marking the first time it added over 100 cases in a day. That’s the third highest single-day case count for any Alabama county so far.
There have now been 3,332 confirmed cases in Jefferson County, which could soon pass Montgomery to once again have the state’s highest case count.
Montgomery County, which added 73 new cases Thursday, still has the state’s highest total case count at 3,467.
Marshall County, in north Alabama, added the second most new cases in the state on Thursday at 83. It now has 1,265 total cases, fifth most in the state, despite having a much smaller population than the other counties near the top of the list. It’s the only county in the top nine for total cases with fewer than 100,000 residents.
Tuscaloosa County also added 74 new cases, a sharp increase over recent days. Madison County, home of Huntsville, added 65 new cases, fifth most in the state and its highest single-day case total since the start of the pandemic.
Hospitalizations and Tests
Hospitalizations are rising in Alabama. The state set an all-time record for the 7-day average of current hospitalizations on Tuesday at 657. On Wednesday, the most recent day for which data was available, the average sat at 656.
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Testing has also increased. The state reported 10,686 new coronavirus tests on Thursday, a large increase over testing numbers from recent days – but the percent of tests performed that have come back positive has also climbed in recent days.
The ratio of average new cases to average new tests now stands at 10.6 percent. The previous high for this ratio was 14.5 percent, set earlier this month.
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