Jefferson County, Alabama’s most populous county and Birmingham’s home, added 1,200 cases of coronavirus so far in July, or 200 cases per day, the most among all Alabama counties.
The Alabama Department of Public Health confirmed 189 new cases of the virus on Monday in the county when coronavirus hospitalizations in Birmingham and across the state reached record highs.
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After seeing other less populated counties take and maintain the focus of coronavirus early in the pandemic, Jefferson County has become the undeniable epicenter of virus cases in Alabama. In the past few weeks, the county has added cases much faster than any other Alabama county at any time during the pandemic so far.
As of the end of June, only Montgomery County, which had the worst outbreak in the state at the time last month at the time, had seen an average of 7 days of more than 100 cases per day. The Jefferson County average now hovers around 200 cases per day. You haven’t added less than 140 cases in one day in at least nine days, and due to a data reporting error, that number is likely to be higher.
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The county has now seen 5,410 confirmed cases since March, about 1,250 more than the next closest county. 152 deaths from coronavirus have also been seen, the most in the state.
Coronavirus testing has increased slightly in Jefferson County, but not at the same rate as cases. Since mid-May, the percentage of tests that have tested positive in Jefferson has increased from 2% to 12%. The 7-day average for tests performed increased from around 950 to 1,600, but the average of daily new cases increased from around 20 to almost 200.
Hospitalizations until
Jefferson County, along with the rest of the state, is also seeing an increase in coronavirus-related hospitalizations. The UAB hospital announced Monday that it was treating 86 inpatients with confirmed cases of the virus, a record high and 12 more patients than the previous record, set a week earlier.
The state health department also reported a record high for coronavirus hospitalizations statewide, with more than 1,000 patients currently hospitalized.
According to ADPH, more than a third of all patients who have been hospitalized in Alabama since March 13 are currently in the hospital.
Got an idea for a Alabama data story? Email Ramsey Archibald at [email protected]and follow him on Twitter @RamseyArchibald. Read more Alabama data stories here.
