DCH Adds 27 Inpatients Friday, Marking New High For Current Wave

TUSCALOOSA, AL — DCH Health System hit a new troubling high for the current surge in new coronavirus cases as the three-hospital logged 27 new admissions as of 3 p.m. on Friday, bringing its overall total to 92 cases. The latest numbers reveal the sharpest upward spike in new hospitalizations for Tuscaloosa since the surge brought on by the holidays.

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Quick COVID-19 updates

• DCH Health System is currently treating 24 coronavirus-positive patients in its ICU — up from 8 inpatients a couple of weeks ago.
• One new death of a non-Tuscaloosa County resident was recorded at DCH on Friday, bringing the death toll for the hospital over the last two weeks to 11. However, none of these have been Tuscaloosa County residents.
• Eight coronavirus patients at DCH are currently being treated on ventilators, which has remained relatively unchanged over the week.
• As of Friday, 142,131 doses of the coronavirus vaccine had been given to Tuscaloosa County residents, with 80,073 receiving their first shot. This still represents less than half of the population of the Tuscaloosa metropolitan area.

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The latest data shows Tuscaloosa County confirmed 424 new coronavirus cases this week, as local vaccine demand remains low and public health officials warn of 16 different "variants of concern" in the west Alabama region.

The local trends are in line with national figures, with roughly 43,000 people hospitalized with COVID-19 between July 27 and Aug. 2, according to the CDC. As Patch previously reported, this represents the highest seven-day average since early March 2021, though still below the January peak of nearly 137,000 patients.

ALSO READ: University Of Alabama Issues Temporary Mask Requirement

Ahead of the fall semester and an attempt to return to in-person learning, worries of sustained local spreading of the virus prompted the University of Alabama to take action by implementing renewed face-covering and social distancing requirements.

Conversely, Tuscaloosa County School System and Tuscaloosa City Schools have both stopped short of issuing mask mandates for students and faculty ahead of the school year beginning in less than two weeks.

As a reminder, DCH Regional Medical Center continues to operate its mobile vaccination site in Tuscaloosa on Fridays. Vaccine appointments are normally available 7 a.m. - 5:50 p.m.

Click here to register online for the vaccine with DCH.

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