Coronavirus Case Total In Alabama Sees Highest Increase In Weeks

MONTGOMERY, AL — Alabama's number of coronavirus cases increased by more than 300 Thursday, which is one of the highest daily increases since the pandemic began. That increase may be attributed to an extra 4,000 tests being administered in the state, as now more than 52,000 people have been tested for the virus.

Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) said Thursday via social media that believes more testing is needed before opening the economy, which is what Gov. Kay Ivey said earlier this week when she announced her stay-at-home order would remain in place.

"I believe widespread COVID19 testing is the key to safely reopening the entire US economy," Shelby said via Twitter. "That is how we get out of this dilemma; not by spending trillions & trillions more. We cannot continue to rack up nat’l debt without knowing what’s working."

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The spike of 302 new cases Thursday was the third highest single day total since the pandemic began. April 9 had a whopping 340 new cases and April 12 showed an increase of 324 cases.

As of Friday afternoon, 5,832 cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed in Alabama, with 197 deaths. The ADPH reports that 768 people have been hospitalized with the virus.

The counties with the most cases as of Friday afternoon:

• Mobile County: 810 confirmed cases; 4,402 total tests; 38 deaths
• Jefferson County: 778 confirmed cases; 9,677 total tests; 31 deaths
• Lee County: 340 confirmed cases; 2,197 total tests; 20 deaths
• Shelby County: 283 confirmed cases; 2,369 total tests; 7 deaths
• Chambers County: 275 confirmed cases; 836 total tests; 16 deaths

The good news for Jefferson County is that the number of cases increased by just 12 in the last 24 hours, which follows a trend the county has seen recently of decreased cases. Mobile County, which continues to see its number of cases increase rapidly, saw an increase of 18 cases, which is less than the county has seen daily this week.

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