DCH Coronavirus Hospitalizations Fall Below Triple Digits

TUSCALOOSA, AL — A recent downward trend in coronavirus hospitalizations across DCH Health System in late January and early February saw the hospital system record its third straight day with inpatient totals below triple digits as Saturday marked the lowest number of coronavirus-positive patients receiving care since Dec. 3, 2020.

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DCH reported 92 total inpatients on Saturday as 13 new hospitalizations were logged for the three-hospital system. As the situation appears to show slight signs of reprieve, vaccines are becoming more readily available to a wider segment of the public, which included vaccinations for Tuscaloosa educators over the weekend through DCH.

The hospital system's ICU space is also in a much better position at present than in previous weeks, 23 total ICU patients as of Saturday, which has been under 30 since Jan. 20.

On the University of Alabama's Tuscaloosa campus, the testing period of Jan. 29 - Feb. 4 saw 142 students and 25 faculty and staffers test positive. Decreases in new cases across the entire University of Alabama System could be a good sign for in-person instruction continuing forward, along with fears of increased community spreading, as the number of new student positives dropped from 331 to 191 week over week.

For Tuscaloosa County, the total number of new cases identified each day has also stayed below 50 over the last three days. While new cases may be on the decline, the virus is still exacting a very real human toll, as the state health department says 25 Tuscaloosa residents have died since Feb. 1 after testing positive for the virus.

To date, Bamatracker.com reports 15,591 total coronavirus cases confirmed for Tuscaloosa County, along with another 7,415 classified as probable.

Ryan Phillips is an award-winning journalist, editor and columnist. He is currently the community publisher of Tuscaloosa Patch and can be reached by emailing ryan.phillips@patch.com.