UA System Sees Significant Drop in COVID-19 Cases
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama System updated its COVID-19 testing results for the week of Sept. 4-10 on Friday afternoon, posting the numbers to its online dashboard and releasing a statement.
According to the dashboard, Alabama added 294 positive cases amongst students compared to 846 the previous week.
“I want to thank our students throughout the University of Alabama System for following the temporary protocols to protect everyone’s health and safety,” said UA System Chancellor Finis St. John in a statement. “Your efforts are paying off and we greatly appreciate your hard work and sacrifice.”
Both the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Alabama in Huntsville also had a small increase in cases with 27 and 11 positive cases respectively.
The total number of cases at UA is now up to 2,573 cases amongst students but this is simply the total case count and does not reflect the number of currently active cases, a number which is lower than the total case amount.
Regarding faculty, a total of 13 new positive cases at UA were reported compared to seven at UAB and none at UAH. This brings the total number of cases at UA to 210 and 112 and seven to UAB and UAH, respectively.
On Aug. 24, Tuscaloosa mayor Walt Maddox's ordered to shut down bars and put a hold on bar services at restaurants in the city limits to combat the spread of the coronavirus. The mayor and UA also worked together, joining both Tuscaloosa Police and UAPD in a combined effort to patrol locations both on- and off-campus to ensure that students were abiding by the university's policies.
This past Monday, those orders came to an end. Restaurants can now continue to serve alcohol to seated guests, while bars may now open at 50-percent capacity so long as the total number of patrons does not exceed 100 people.
However, the policing by both TPD and UAPD remains in affect.
Just because there was not a significant drop in cases does not mean that the threat of the coronavirus has gone away, though.
"University officials caution that the number of positive results may increase as testing continues after Labor Day travel," UA's statement reads. "The University will monitor the numbers closely and continue working with city officials and business leaders to help ensure the health and safety of the local community."
After the drop in positive cases, UA's isolation dorms now sit at just 15-percent occupancy compared to 40 percent the week prior.
After testing 29,938 students and 5,181 faculty and staff for entry testing back in August, only 310 students and 71 educators and staffers tested positive for the virus.
You can view the full statement released by the UA System here:
