One of Alabama’s early hot spots in the coronavirus pandemic now has no patients in the hospital who have tested positive for COVID-19.
Marshall County in northeast Alabama still has reported the most total cases north of Birmingham and its death toll of 9 has been topped only by the 11 deaths in both Etowah and Marion counties as the most in the northern part of the state.
But the rise seems to have subsided. After adding hundreds of cases in late April, Marshall County has recorded less than 20 cases in the last week.
Overall, 660 people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Marshall County. But as it has been from the beginning, there have been few patients at the county's two hospitals, which are part of the Huntsville Hospital Healthcare System.
Related: As cases rise in Marshall County, officials point to chicken plants and increased testing
Related: Alabama hospital celebrates ‘miracle’ coronavirus recovery
“Even though they have a large number of positive cases, they are not converting to inpatients,” said David Spillers, CEO of the Huntsville Hospital Healthcare System. “I can’t explain that to you. I don’t know why that is.”
Along with Birmingham’s Jefferson County and the east Alabama region of Lee, Chambers and Tallapoosa counties, Marshall County emerged as an early spot where cases spiked during the lockdown. During the worst of that surge, the count from the Alabama Department of Public Health was adding dozens of positive cases in Marshall County on a daily basis.
Nine deaths in Marshall County have been attributed to COVID-19, including five in the past month.
Spillers repeatedly said he was “concerned” about that surge in Marshall County during frequent briefings he gave in Huntsville.
Still, the hospitals never reported a serious strain on resources.
The county's hospitals, located in Boaz and Guntersville, have consistently had about 6 to 8 coronavirus patients. On April 23, that number was as high as 12 at Marshall Medical South in Boaz but even then, hospital spokeswoman Claudette DeMuth described that number of patients as "disproportionate" on the low side to the number of positive tests in the county.
Spillers had also said that if the need arose, coronavirus patients could be transferred from the smaller hospitals in Marshall County to Huntsville Hospital.
Over the past two weeks, Marshall County has average about 5.3 positive tests per day – a nominal increase.
Spillers credited local officials in Marshall County as well as the Alabama Department of Public Health for immediately making changes in procedures to help slow the spread.
"spot" - Google News
May 28, 2020 at 05:13AM
https://ift.tt/2M5Nr4F
Marshall County, a coronavirus hot spot in Alabama last month, now has no hospitalizations - AL.com
"spot" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2sMidK2
https://ift.tt/3c9XpgI
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Marshall County, a coronavirus hot spot in Alabama last month, now has no hospitalizations - AL.com"
Post a Comment