Tuscaloosa Tops High For New Coronavirus Cases In Single Day

TUSCALOOSA, AL. — Tuscaloosa County topped its previous high for new coronavirus cases reported in a single day on Tuesday, logging 188 new confirmed cases and 25 additional cases classified as probable, according to the latest data published by Bamatracker.com. The new record total exceeds the previous high of 180 confirmed cases reported on Dec. 2.

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In examining historical data throughout the pandemic, it's important to note that Tuesday's 188 new cases marks only the eighth time that the county's daily new cases topped triple digits, with half of those days coming in the month of December.

The Alabama Department of Health (ADPH) on Tuesday also reported that the state's numbers reflect ADPH processing two backlogs totaling 1,038 positive rapid-test results and 473 positive antigen results from two facilities, but did not specify what local numbers would be impacted as a result.

With new cases surging across the state and country, Tuscaloosa has proven no exception, as hospitalizations for DCH Health System continue to climb at an alarming rate following the Thanksgiving holiday. Another important figured monitored by local officials is the county's 7-day average for new cases, which also hit another disturbing new high on Tuesday as it spiked to 127.14 new cases confirmed per day. When factoring in probable cases, though, that 7-day average currently sits at 163.

Locally, three new deaths of individuals testing positive for the coronavirus were also confirmed Tuesday, raising Tuscaloosa County's number of average deaths per day to above 2 (2.29) for the first time during the pandemic. Over the last week, 16 new deaths were confirmed for the county, which makes up just shy of 12% of the total deaths (137) since the first local cases were identified in April.

The steady upticks also come as DCH Health System topped a new highs on Monday for new coronavirus inpatients (29), total inpatients (133) and patients receiving treatment in its intensive care units (33), primarily at hospitals in Northport and Tuscaloosa.

Patch reported on Monday when DCH said, despite the drastic influx of new patients, the situation on the ground for the hospital system remains manageable as it implements a range of adjustments to pivot with the flow of cases, while still working to shore up the needed space for non-virus patients.

Additionally, DCH Vice President of Marketing and Communications Andy North told local media that DCH had been contacted and identified as a distribution point for vaccines once they come available. As North pointed out, Pfizer and BioNTech SE will see its Emergency Use Authorization hearing for an mRNA vaccine candidate on Dec. 10, while Moderna's hearing will be on Dec. 17.

"More than likely it will be a week to two weeks after Dec. 10 and after Dec. 17 before those vaccines really start to make their way to the distribution site," he said, before mentioning the hospital system would follow vaccine prioritization recommendations set at the state and federal levels.

North said the first phase would see vaccinations offered to frontline healthcare workers and first responders, while the second phase, to his understanding, would come several months into the new year and be offered to the elderly and those classified as high-risk, before then being made available to the wider public.

Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox also said at the beginning of the week that the city had no immediate plans for a shutdown of businesses, per its daily communications with DCH and recommendations from the system. However, the mayor did announce Monday evening that the city would close all of its buildings and event spaces to the public in an effort to address impacts felt by the city's workforce.

Statewide, the latest data shows Alabama still breaking records for new cases and hospitalizations, as the state reported a new high of 27,044 hospitalizations on Tuesday, with 2,305 of those being treated in ICUs. Additionally, 31 new coronavirus deaths were confirmed statewide Tuesday, bringing Alabama's 7-day average for deaths to a record high of 31.29 deaths per day.

Other highs topped by the state could also be seen in new single-day cases reported (3,218) and the state's 7-day average for new cases (2,710).

As cases and hospitalizations surge at the local level across the country, the Alabama Department of Public Health says it is currently in the process of working to allow the release of those from quarantine after 10 days under certain conditions identified in recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The current timetable for isolation, as recommended by the CDC, still stands at 14 days.

"While we would like to be able to decrease the home quarantine time frame to seven days for persons who may have been exposed to COVID-19, this is not possible at this time due to a number of reasons including our high case numbers and the disparity in testing resources among different parts of our state," said State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris last week. "We should not knowingly increase the percentage of possibly infectious asymptomatic persons out and about."

Many across the state, including officials in Tuscaloosa, are also crafting policy decisions to stay in line with directives issued by Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, whose latest "Safer at Home" order is set to expire on Friday, Dec. 11.

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