DCH Reports Sustained Improvement For Inpatient COVID-19 Cases

TUSCALOOSA, AL. — DCH Health System on Thursday reported a total of 58 inpatient COVID-19 cases, marking a substantial improvement from when the hospital hit triple digits in July. As part of its latest report, the three-hospital system said 24 inpatients who are positive for COVID-19 are being treated in the system's intensive care units (ICUs), seven of which are on ventilators.

The number of total inpatient virus cases throughout DCH Health System is down from 77 cases reported two weeks ago. However, the number of patients being treated in DCH ICUs has seen little change from the 25 cases on Aug. 13.

Over the previous two weeks, eight more Tuscaloosa residents died after testing positive for the novel coronavirus, bringing the county's overall virus-related death toll to 87. Also during this time, 15 more COVID-19 patients admitted for care across the health system have died, but their deaths are counted toward their home county's totals if they are not a Tuscaloosa resident.

Conversely, DCH reported on Thursday that 790 inpatients who were positive for COVID-19 have been discharged since the onset of the pandemic.

The decline in inpatient cases has been lauded over the week as a positive sign indicative of effective public health measures being implemented. But as University of Alabama students return to classes and city officials work to avoid any new spikes, the possibility for a surge in new cases is still a talking point.

This week, UA announced 531 new cases had been identified on the Tuscaloosa campus — a number that has not been updated since Monday, as testing continues on campus. In addition to the upcoming Labor Day holiday, it has been a consistent worry of city officials that two more spikes could be possible due to their circumstances.

The Alabama Department of Public Health, which does not incorporate student testing results for the county where each collegiate institution is located, reported Tuscaloosa County had 4,954 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Thursday, with 587 listed as probable.