DCH Reports 138 Inpatients As Statewide ICU Space Maxed Out

TUSCALOOSA, AL — DCH Health System reported a total of 138 coronavirus positive inpatients on Monday, with 30 patients receiving care in the system's ICUs.

Of those patients, 11 are being treated on ventilators.

Monday's total was up from 80 inpatient cases reported two weeks ago and came on the same day that Alabama Hospital Association Director Dr. Don Williamson said the state's current ICU situation shows only two available beds in Alabama. While DCH has weathered higher ICU numbers at other times during the pandemic, community trends with respect to the spreading of the virus appears to be widespread across the state and nation.

Numbers reported by DCH as of Monday also show that 23 non-Tuscaloosa residents have died at the hospital over the past two weeks after testing positive for the coronavirus.

Tuscaloosa COVID-19 quick facts

• Tuscaloosa County remains classified as an area of high virus transmission, with 227 new cases per 100,000 people identified over the last seven days.
• Indoor mask orders are currently in place for the following institutions: University of Alabama, Shelton State Community College, Stillman College and Tuscaloosa City Schools.
• As of the latest vaccination numbers, 82,672 Tuscaloosa County residents have received at least one dose. According to the latest U.S. Census data, 29% of the county's population have completed their vaccination series.

VARIANTS OF CONCERN

As the number of those vaccinated in Tuscaloosa continues its slow rise, it has been quickly outpaced by a virus that spreads faster than communities can get fully vaccinated against it.

Public health experts at Yale University recently spoke to the dramatic progression of "variants of concern," primarily the highly-publicized Delta variant, which is spreading 50% faster than the original strain of the virus.

“In a completely unmitigated environment—where no one is vaccinated or wearing masks—it’s estimated that the average person infected with the original coronavirus strain will infect 2.5 other people,” said Dr. F Perry Wilson, of Yale. “In the same environment, Delta would spread from one person to maybe 3.5 or 4 other people.”

Locally, the Alabama Department of Public Health reports 503 variants of concern statewide identified over the last four weeks, with 32 in the West Central region that includes Tuscaloosa County.

A LOOK AHEAD

Despite pressing concerns over the progressive spread of new variants at the community level, state and local officials have been hesitant to implement stricter public health guidelines such as mask orders and limits on public gatherings.

While Bid Day 2021 on the University of Alabama campus was met with excitement over the weekend, videos of several local bars showed large crowds and few masks during big events — less than a week ahead of UA returning to in-person instruction. The university has been consistently adding to its incentives for students to receive the vaccine, but it is unclear at this time just how much of the student population will have completed their vaccine series by the time classes begin on Thursday.

Numerous public health officials have expressed how past waves likely did not make young adults and those of college age feel vulnerable, as most who were hospitalized were older or suffering from underlying conditions. However, DCH has pointed out that while roughly 25% for those ages 18-29 have finished their series, hospitalization numbers among this cohort are climbing nationwide due to more progressive variants.

As Patch previously reported, UA has implemented certain measures, such as an indoor mask mandate, with exceptions provided when the individual is socially-distant indoors or working alone in offices and private workspaces, in addition to eating, drinking, exercising and faculty teaching. However, to do so, faculty must be distanced and behind plexiglass.

Tuscaloosa City Schools also became the most recent institution to implement a mask order for its facilities last week, while it remains unlikely that the much-larger Tuscaloosa County School System will do the same without a directive from Gov. Kay Ivey.

This has been the same approach taken by the City of Tuscaloosa, which has opted to allow its different departments to regulate face-coverings as they see fit. Other elected bodies, however, such as the City of Northport and Tuscaloosa County, have shown no public desire to reconsider emergency orders without guidance from the governor's office.

As cases rise, though, the City of Northport has reinstated some restrictions, while not mandating that masks be worn for entry into City Hall. Visitor's temperatures are now taken when they enter the building and additional space between elected officials and members of the public are once again being observed.

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