County remains at ‘high risk’ for COVID

Published 10:41 pm Tuesday, August 31, 2021

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Sixty-six of Alabama’s 67 counties remain at high risk for COVID-19 infection —including Pike County.

According to Troy Regional Medical Center CEO Rick Smith, the number of infections in Pike County continue to rise.

“We’re testing well over 100 people a day,” Smith said. “We had 119 one day. We’re close to where we were in January at the peak. We’re having a 28 percent positivity rate — about 1-in-3 people testing positive. The state is averaging about 22 percent and Pike County, as a whole, is averaging about 25 percent.”

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According to the Alabama Hospital Association, 889 people in the state are in intensive care units with COVID-19. That accounts for 54 percent of the state’s ICUs.

In addition, the AHA reports that 607 people with the coronavirus are on ventilators.

The Alabama Department of Public Health is recommending anyone exposed to the coronavirus should quarantine for 14 days beginning after their last exposure to a person infected with the coronavirus.