Coronavirus: Alabama Illness Count Grows To 6,270, 216 Deaths

BIRMINGHAM, AL — The number of new coronavirus cases in Alabama reached 6,270 on Sunday, with 216 fatalities from the respiratory illness to date. The updated numbers represent a spike of 244 new cases since Saturday with an increase of seven more fataliites in the same 24-hour period.

The updated count comes from the Alabama Department of Public Health on a dashboard updated daily. The data on Saturday indicated 6,026 total cases — an increase of 194 from the previous day — with 209 deaths to date.

On the Alabama Department of Public Health portal, the number of hospitalizations since March 13 is tallied at 845 as of Sunday. The number of people tested to date is 73,551, according to health officials, in a state with a population of some 4.8 million.

The greatest number of deaths, according to the dashboard data, have been in the following counties:

• Mobile: 41, one more death since Saturday.
• Jefferson: 33 (unchanged).
• Lee: 24, with two more deaths recorded since Saturday.
• Chambers: 18, one more fatality in 24 hours.
• Tallapoosa: 17 (unchanged).

Despite the overnight illness rate increase, Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth wrote on Twitter of a 15-day “downward trajectory,” as the state seeks to gradually reopen the economy. "15 days of downward trajectory of documented cases, this continues to be a good trend," Ainsworth wrote in his post on Saturday. "It’s time to safely reopen Alabama."

The dashboard breaks down the rate of illness with demographic specificity, including broad racial categorizations. According to the most recent available data, 37.62 percent of illness cases have impacted the black community, followed by 46 percent for those categorized by health officials as white.

However, the broad racial breakdown doesn't specify what's included in the latter category — including whether those of the Hispanic or Latino are folded into the white racial category as the etnicity is not broken down in the overall category determined by race.

In a more granular breakdown pointing to illness rates per ethnicity, the health district provides three sets of data for Hispanic/Latino at 4.8 percent; non-Hispanic/Latino at 76.36 percent and "unknown" at 18.82 percent.

As the illness data were being updated, a spokesperson for Gov. Kay Ivey confirmed her plans to gradually open the state economy. "Gov. Ivey is mindful and sensitive to the sacrifices the people of Alabama have made during this pandemic, and she is eager for businesses to safely reopen," spokesperson Gina Maiola told WVTM 13 on Sunday. "She has been in continuous discussions with the White House and appreciates the helpful guidance that they have given to states as her and her fellow governors make these tough decisions."

According to the report, the process of opening up the state economy in phases will be unveiled in the coming days. For now, the governor's previlusly issued "Stay at Home" order remains in effect until April 30.