How Alabama Is Weathering Pandemic: See New Weekly Virus Data

WASHINGTON, DC — New data from the White House is giving a fresh look into how Alabama is handling the coronavirus pandemic, and how the state compares to others across the country.

Under the previous administration, the White House COVID-19 Team compiled weekly reports tracking pandemic growth in each individual state, but the reports were kept private. On Wednesday, White House COVID-19 Data Director Cyrus Shahpar confirmed over twitter that, going forward, the data would be shared publicly.

Here's a look at how Alabama fared on its first State Profile Report (Note that, while the report was first released Wednesday, the data below represents cases from the 7-day week ending Sunday, Jan 24.):

Alabama has a higher positive lab test rate than the national average, posting a 15.1 percent rate compared to the national average of 10.6 percent. Alabama's 379 new cases per 100,000 people over last week puts the state right at the national average of 381. Alabama falls below the national average of tests administered per 100,000 people, as outlined in the chart below:

Alabama ranks slightly above the national average in new hospitalizations per 100 beds, with 22 (the national average is at 20). Alabama also has a higher than average number of hospitals with supply shortages and staff shortages, as reported in the chart:

Jefferson, Madison and Mobile counties lead the state in number of new cases in the last three weeks.

All 52 state profile reports can be found here. They will be updated weekly.