COVID-19 Update_FB
UPDATE: As of 4:30 PM on Tuesday, May 26 there are 15,396 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 4,946 cases reported in the last 14 days. 193,759 total tests given to date with 73,741 people tested in the last 14 days. 575 COVID-19 deaths in Alabama with 1,671 in hospital. 7,951 people are presumed recovered from COVID_19.
MONTGOMERY-The Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) investigates all cases of COVID-19 and provides contact tracing to reduce the spread of this virus. As with any entity, ADPH expects that COVID-19 cases will occur as has already happened including with one of its own employees in March 2020 within the Bureau of Clinical Laboratories. As a matter of protection of privacy accorded to all patients, ADPH is cautious about providing notifiable disease information.
When and if ADPH has a report of COVID-19 in any employee, ADPH assesses the case and contacts, including any patient contacts, and provides testing and management in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance. Cleaning and disinfection protocols as prescribed by CDC are followed as well. As an enhancement, commercial cleaning entities may be engaged as an additional precaution.
ADPH continues to take proactive steps to reduce the risk of infection among its workforce. These steps are testing employees’ temperatures daily and sending home those who are sick, requiring sick employees to stay home, increasing the frequency of cleaning facilities, canceling meetings and staff travel, increasing the use of teleworking among staff, social distancing including encouraging use of masks, and ongoing messaging from the ADPH Office of Human Resources.
For more information about COVID-19, see alabamapublichealth.gov.
Media Release/Karen Landers, M.D./ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH
