UA Reports New High For Virus Cases Among Faculty, Staff

Tuscaloosa AL

06 November, 2020

4:56 PM

Description

TUSCALOOSA, AL. — New coronavirus cases saw improvement among students on the University of Alabama's Tuscaloosa campus over the last week, but the campus hit a new single-week high for new cases among faculty and staff. In its weekly update, the University of Alabama System reported on its COVID-19 online dashboard that 25 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed among faculty and staff for the testing period of Oct. 30 - Nov. 5, while 56 new cases were reported for students. Click here to subscribe to our daily email newsletters and breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox and mobile devices for free. You can also support local journalism by donating as little as $5 a month to become a supporting member or by downloading our free Patch mobile app. The spike in employee cases is the highest since 17 cases were confirmed during the week of Sept. 11-17. In total, 318 UA faculty and staff have tested positive since the onset of the pandemic. Conversely, the number of new confirmed student virus cases came it as its lowest weekly total since early October. UA's cumulative total for student virus cases currently sits at an even 2,800. The UA System also reported that the Tuscaloosa campus is at 3.28% occupancy for its isolation space, with 17 of 518 rooms currently in use by students. A week-by-week breakdown of positive COVID-19 cases for faculty and staff employed by the University of Alabama System (Screenshot, UA System COVID-19 Dashboard) The system then mentioned that its three universities have announced plans to continue on-campus instruction through Nov. 20, with in-person classes scheduled to resume in January. UA's latest system update comes amid what local officials believe to be improvement with respect to the spread of the virus and strain put on local hospitals. ALSO READ: City Optimistic As Coronavirus Cases Trend Down At DCH As of Friday afternoon, DCH Health System reported 41 inpatient COVID-19 cases, with 13 of those being treated in intensive care units (ICUs). While up over previous days, Friday's inpatient number is a definite improvement from two weeks ago when the system reported caring for 62 inpatients on Oct. 23. According to Bamatracker.com, an independent data aggregator used statewide and by city of Tuscaloosa officials, the county add 44 new cases to its total Friday, bringing the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases to 7,883 confirmed. To date, the county has confirmed 118 COVID-19 deaths, with 28 classified as probable. Follow Patch here for updates or on Facebook and Twitter. You can also download the Patch mobile app, free for Apple and Android mobile devices.