Rise in coronavirus cases brings new concerns in Alabama
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Will Boyd was at the funeral Saturday morning for a relative who had died after contracting the new coronavirus when he got the call with the news. His brother had also passed away from COVID-19.
“The virus is real. It’s real. If they don’t know it’s real, they can come and walk with me to the cemetery,” Boyd said of the skeptics.
Alabama and much of the Deep South are seeing a spike in coronavirus cases as some have stopped heeding warnings of the virus, alarming public health officials and people who have lost loved ones because of COVID-19. Over the past two weeks, Alabama had the second highest number of new cases per capita in the nation. South Carolina was fourth. Louisiana and Mississippi were also in the top 10.
“We are extremely concerned about these numbers. We know if they continue, we will see more hospitalizations and more deaths,” Alabama State Health Officer Scott Harris said.
As of Saturday, Alabama had more than 29,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with more than a quarter of the cases reported in the last two weeks.
The combination of preexisting health conditions and limited health care access in the region, along with pockets of public skepticism about health officials' advice on the illness, complicate attempts to manage the virus.
Dr. Selwyn Vickers, dean of the UAB School of Medicine, said the South has high rates of diabetes, kidney disease, heart disease and high blood pressure — all illnesses that put people at risk for poorer outcomes with COVID-19.
But Vickers said human behavior is the most difficult aspect of fighting the disease.
“When you open the doors and you look at the beaches, you look at the restaurants and you look at cities that choose not to do masks, or individuals who don't, ... I...
