ADPH reacts to low report of 175 COVID-19 cases Tuesday

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - The Alabama Department of Public Health confirmed just 175 cases of COVID-19 Tuesday, but the low numbers come with an asterisk.

“There is not a glitch with the dashboard,” said ADPH spokeswoman Arrol Sheehan, who confirmed the number is accurate.

The issue with the admittedly low number comes from a situation ADPH says is beyond its control.

“The number of cases reported on the dashboard are based upon the number of cases reported to ADPH by healthcare providers and laboratories,” ADPH’s Dr. Karen Landers explained.

ADPH has since determined that a lab that provides reports to the state health department had “connectivity problems” Tuesday, delaying its results.

Tuesday’s numbers have been released, so while they may appear low, Wednesday may appear higher because the additional reports will be reflected during that day’s count.

ADPH continues to see a rising number of “probable” cases. As of Tuesday, there are a record 6,288 cases that are awaiting results.

ADPH had confirmed a total of 110,954 cases and 1,959 deaths due to of COVID-19 since the pandemic began. A total of 920,989 tests have been conducted, to date.

There have been 3,793 hospitalizations for the illness since March.

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Original Story: https://www.wsfa.com/2020/08/25/adph-reacts-low-report-covid-cases-tuesday/