COVID-19 cases continue to rise slowly in the state.

Alabama’s 7-day average for new COVID cases has more than doubled since June 1st, and the state’s positivity rate is also increasing steadily, which isn’t a good sign.

The 7-day average for cases is up 108% since the beginning of the month of June, and it’s up 17% in the last week alone; the statewide positivity rate, the percent of official COVID tests performed that come back positive, is up 69% since the start of June, and 17% last week.  However – overall, case numbers remain relatively low.

The county with the highest rate is Tuscaloosa, reporting 5.7 cases per 10,000 people a day. That’s not much compared to the numbers seen back during omicron or delta, but at home testing makes those comparisons fruitless anyway.  What’s important is that cases are increasing throughout the state and at this point that increase remains relatively slow, but it also remains steady.

The number of people hospitalized with COVID in Alabama continued to creep up at a steady rate, topping 350 late last week.  Hospitalizations are currently the most ‘real’ metric for measuring the pandemic, as hospitalization numbers aren’t skewed by at-home testing.  The Hospitalizations are up by 79% since June 1st, and 27% last week.

(AL.COM/www.al.com)