COVID-19 cases overall remain low in Alabama, BUT the state has seen a slight uptick in both cases and positivity rate in recent days – as the new BA.2.12.1 variant makes its way across the country.

The Alabama Department of Public Health is reporting the state’s positivity rate – the percentage of COVID tests performed in a seven-day period that come back positive – reached 6.1% as of Monday, the most recent day for which data was available.  That’s still far lower than those highs seen during the omicron surge.  In January, Alabama’s positivity rate topped 45% – drastically higher than the current number.  Monday’s positivity rate is the highest which Alabama has seen since late February –according to ADPH data.  The state’s COVID hospitalization numbers remain at their lowest levels since the start of the pandemic.  As of Monday there were just 55 COVID hospitalizations in the state.

Total cases in Alabama have also seen a slight increase – the state’s 7-day average for new cases increased by some 43% in the last week, though overall cases are still very low compared to most other times during the pandemic.  

That 7-day average – as of Tuesday was 282.6 cases per day – after falling well below 200 daily cases at times in April.

The recent rise in numbers is far from alarming at this stage – however – it’s the first significant rise in cases, and positivity rate – Alabama has seen since omicron variant faded away.   

The majority of Alabama’s 67 counties are currently classified as having a ‘moderate’ risk of community spread or higher – according to the ADPH and guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

(AL.COM/www.al.com)