COVID case number climbs slightly in Alabama

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - COVID-19 numbers are rising again across Alabama, but we are still nowhere near the peaks we saw during the Omicron surge.

The Alabama Department of Public Health says there were over 700 new cases in the state on Wednesday, and local experts say they are seeing approximately 110 new cases a day in Jefferson County. Still, this is far from the surges and spikes we have seen before.

“This is behaving differently; it is not exploding like it was before,” said Medical Director for Disease Control Jefferson County Department of Health Wesley Willeford.

At one point, the state was reporting over 10,000 new cases a day. Due to the lower numbers now coming out, many companies are no longer offering time off for COVID-19. Still, experts stress it is vital that you don’t go to work sick.

“We deal with this during Flu season. Maybe one person comes into work and they are not feeling the best and before you know it you have a whole office of people who are out with the flu or out with something else contagious. I think it is just important to make sure we are really trying to minimize that impact,” said Dr. Willeford.

Two sub-variants of Omicron seem to be the reason behind the higher case count and if you test positive, Alabama’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Karen Landers stresses isolation is key in limiting the spread.

“We still need people who have the illness COVID-19 to stay in isolation for a minimum of five days and ensure their symptoms are improving before they come out of isolation,” said Dr. Landers.

Even after you return to the office, health experts believe you should mask for five additional days.

“We have to remember COVID is with us and we can take preventative measures and measures to protect ourselves if we develop it,” said Dr. Landers.

That means vaccinations and the necessary booster shots. As far as the latest trends are concerned, both local and state health experts stress they are monitoring the case levels closely.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE WBRC FOX6 NEWS APP

Subscribe to our WBRC newsletter and receive the latest local news and weather straight to your email.

Copyright 2022 WBRC. All rights reserved.