COVID-19 cases continue to rise in county; 11 deaths reported

For a few days last week, it looked as though Marengo County was bucking the trend of the rise of coronavirus cases. The county went three days without a reported infection.

Since then positive tests have jumped and, tragically, deaths attributed to the virus now number 11.

The case numbers in Alabama have jumped so sharply that the governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are requiring travelers to their states to self-quarantine for 14 days or be fined.

The ICU at Whitfield Regional Hospital “has been full and more than full,” said CEO/Administrator Doug Brewer Wednesday. Although the number of patients in the ICU has dropped this week, Brewer said a few had to be transferred in the past because there were no rooms available.

WRH received a full review from UAB on its COVID-19 procedures that “reinforced that our percentages and numbers are very good” and that the deaths were within “what you’d expect” in any hospital treating the patients, he continued.

The hospital is starting to see the “pathology of delayed treatment,” he went on. People are being hospitalized for issues unrelated to the virus because they have put off seeking treatment during the self-quarantine.

As of Wednesday, the county has registered 248 cases of the new coronavirus, a jump of 14 over the past week and 48 over the last 14 days.