Alabama nears 134,000 total cases

Published 9:45 pm Monday, September 7, 2020

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Alabama added more than 650 new cases of COVID-19 overnight Monday.

According to the Alabama Department of Public Health 10 a.m. update, the state has more than 121,474 confirmed cases and 11,499 presumed cases. The presumed cases are those who tested positive using an antigen or quick response test.

In Pike County, the state is reporting 851 confirmed cases along with 198 presumed cases. The county’s 14-day positive rate is 8.47 percent and is increasing. Pike County also remains under the “high risk” designation according to the ADPH.

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Troy University, which keeps a separate daily log of self-reported cases, did not update the totals on Monday. As of Friday,  a total of 239 cases among students and 11 among employees had been self-reported on the Troy campus since Aug. 3, when dorms opened to students. Based on reported on-campus enrollment of nearly 6,600, some 3.6 percent of students on the Troy campus have self-reported positive tests for COVID-19.

Troy University will begin randomly testing students and faculty for COVID-19 this week.

According to an email sent to students by Dr. Lance Tatum, senior vice president for academic affairs, the university will randomly select 3 to 5 percent of the campus population for testing each week to determine how much of the COVID-19 virus is spreading.

“This test is not mandatory, but we urge anyone who is selected to participate,” he wrote. “As we know, many people who have COVID-19 display no symptoms and may be spreading the virus to others without knowing it. Random testing will help us identify asymptomatic carriers and keep the campus safe.”

The testing is part of the GuideSafe Sentinel Testing program, which is being deployed at college campuses across Alabama.

If selected, students and faculty are to report to the Elm Street Gym, where the free nasal swab tests will be administered. Results are expected within 36 hours and anyone who tests positive is required to isolate immediately at home or in an off-campus residence.

The university has reserved one floor of Pace Hall to quarantine students on campus, if necessary.