Alabama on Easter Sunday entered its 31st day under Governor Kay Ivey’s emergency order in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
Today’s coronavirus update looks at where the state’s measures stack up to others from around the country — and the results those have achieved.
First, the latest numbers:
As of 6:00 a.m. on Sunday, Alabama has still not seen any explosion of cases like that predicted by early modeling. The state’s total confirmed cases have ticked up to 3,262 with 93 reported deaths. Since March 13, there have now been 402 total hospitalizations. Jefferson County now has 579 confirmed cases and 15 reported deaths.
About those models. The much-maligned model built by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation has decreased its projections for Alabama, yet again. The group is now projecting 431 total COVID-19 deaths in the state by August. And it now contends that the peak day for deaths in Alabama will be April 20.
Did one size fit all? For weeks, members of the national media have brow beaten the leadership in states not implementing shelter-in-place orders. This is may be another case of their inability to recognize that not everyone lives and works like they do. In cities such as New York, where people move about and live basically on top of one another, a shelter-in-place policy may continue to make sense for the area.
That may not be the case everywhere.
Looking at some data shared with Yellowhammer News, states with either partial or no shelter-in-place orders seem to be faring well in containing the spread of coronavirus.
Here are the confirmed cases per million population by state. The COVID-19 cases are based on data as of Saturday at 9:00 a.m. States without a shelter-in-place order are marked in red.
Here are the reported deaths per million population by state with the same color coding.
Opening back up. While some states continue to enforce extreme measures, leaders in Alabama and beyond have begun taking notice that a one-size-fits-all approach may not be necessary moving forward. On Thursday, Alabama Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh (R-Anniston) announced his plan to get the state’s economy moving again. Then on Saturday, State Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) took to social media to outline his belief that it was time for the state to begin relaxing the restrictions placed on businesses. In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott has said he will begin the process of opening businesses back up this week.
Tim Howe is an owner of Yellowhammer Multimedia
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