Alabama Sees 2nd Highest Spike Ever In New Coronavirus Cases

MONTGOMERY, AL — While the governor's "safer-at-home" order remains in effect in place of the month-long stay-at-home order, Alabama saw its second highest increase in new coronavirus cases ever Tuesday.

The Alabama Department of Public Health reports that 335 new cases of the virus were confirmed May 5, which is just 4 cases shy of the highest daily total ever (339 on April 9).

Total, Alabama has 8,581 confirmed cases of the virus as of Wednesday afternoon. The state has also confirmed 340 deaths from the virus, an increase of 27 fatalities in 24 hours. The state has administered more than 109,000 tests and 1,158 patients have been hospitalized.

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The counties with the most coronavirus cases as of Wednesday afternoon:

• Mobile County: 1,287 confirmed cases; 9,575 total tests; 76 deaths
• Jefferson County: 1,036 confirmed cases; 17,918 total tests; 53 deaths
• Montgomery County: 467 confirmed cases; 3,405 total tests; 12 deaths
• Marshall County: 462 confirmed cases; 3,273 total tests; 8 deaths
• Lee County: 409 confirmed cases; 3,309 total tests; 29 deaths
• Shelby County: 335 confirmed cases; 4,548 total tests; 15 deaths
• Chambers County: 304 confirmed cases; 1,115 total tests; 22 deaths
• Tallapoosa County: 304 confirmed cases; 1,568 total tests; 23 deaths
• Tuscaloosa County: 245 confirmed cases; 4,763 total tests; 4 deaths
• Madison County: 238 confirmed cases; 8,623 total tests; 4 deaths

Gov. Kay Ivey's "safer-at-home" order expires May 15, but Ivey is expected to make a decision and announce a plan before then regarding the reopening certain businesses moving forward.

The White House has said that 14 consecutive days of declining cases is the benchmark that should be met before a full reopening of the economy, and that mark has not been reached. In fact, the state saw four straight days of increasing totals before a much better day Monday, when 231 new cases were reported.

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