Positive COVID-19 test return rates on the rise
In Morgan County, nearly 30 percent of people getting tested for COVID-19 are positive.
MORGAN COUNTY, Ala. (WAFF) - Over the last few weeks, nearly 30 percent of all COVID-19 tests in Morgan County are coming back positive.
That’s the highest rate of positive returns we’ve seen in Morgan County throughout this pandemic.
The county is also slowly approaching 5,000 positive COVID-19 cases. Fourteen percent of those cases were diagnosed in the last 14 days.
“There’s definitely community spread, it’s not isolated to one section of the county. It’s county-wide," Michael Glenn with the Alabama Department of Public Health explained.
Glenn says the number of cases is increasing, but that isn’t all. Right now, 27.8 percent of COVID-19 tests in the county are coming back positive.
“Those that are in the hospital are very very sick people and so we don’t want to tax our hospital systems, and COVID isn’t the only thing going on," Glenn continued.
Glenn says if people don’t start following guidelines he fears our hospitals will suffer after the holidays.
“We’re definitely concerned for mid-January, after all the holiday seasons and people are gathering friends and family together. We anticipate an increase in number of cases because people are in close proximity," Glenn said.
Health officials are recommending you have family gatherings outside or try and social distance as much as possible.
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