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Forty-seven of Alabama’s 67 counties are now considered “at very high risk” for the spread of COVID-19, according to the latest figures from the Alabama Department of Public Health.
Bibb, Bullock, Coosa, Escambia, Jackson, Lamar, Perry, Pickens and Sumter are the only counties in Alabama in the low risk category, meaning they have had a downward trajectory of 14 days or more or have a rate of 10 cases or less in the previous two weeks.
Choctaw, Clay, Cleburne, Colbert, Greene and Russell were all classified as “moderate risk” and Conecuh, Fayette, Lowndes, Wilcox and Winston were all classified as “high risk”. The remaining counties are classified as “very high risk”.
The risk categories are primarily determined by the number of new cases of COVID per day. Counties considered “at very high risk” are those where the number of cases remains the same or increases. Counties with decreasing counts from 1 to 6 days are in the high risk category and a decrease from 7 to 13 days is considered “moderate”.
Variants in Alabama
Variants of COVID continue to circulate in Alabama, the state with the lowest vaccination rate in the country. Alabama has 820 Alpha, 2 Beta, 31 Gamma, and 56 Delta variants, a highly contagious form of coronavirus that is expected to become the dominant strain in the United States
“These variants are more transmissible, especially Alpha and Delta, and some variants have less response to treatments such as monoclonal antibodies,” ADPH said.
Meanwhile, the number of reported COVID cases in Alabama jumped 39% from June 26 to July 9 with the rate of positive tests – 7.7% – the highest since February.
As of July 14, 341 people have been hospitalized in Alabama with COVID, up from 179 on July 3.
ADPH advises people to get vaccinated “as soon as possible”.
“The vaccines we have are very effective and the benefits far outweigh the risks,” ADPH said. “Only a very small percentage of deaths from COVID-19 occur among the fully vaccinated population. “
As of July 15, Alabama had reported 557,578 cases of COVID-19 with 11,439 deaths.
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