DECATUR, Ala. — Morgan County leaders are seeing the number of positive cases go down compared to what they've see in recent weeks. However, they say there's still work to be done to flatten the curve.
"The good news is, a lot of people are going home. The bad news is, a lot of people are still being admitted," says Alabama Department of Public Health Northern District Administrator, Judy Smith.
Smith says the number of hospital stays have evened out. So far, Morgan County has more than 2200 positive cases and 15 deaths. Smith says it's two more deaths than last week.
She says one of the biggest problems is still hospital staffing. "Both the number of people who are in the hospitals, as well as how sick the number of folks are in the hospital, and quite honestly the drain on our staffing and our health care system."
Smith says another issue is the turnaround time for test results. "As more and more people are getting tested, there's more and more demands on the testing centers. Quite honestly there's also more demands on the laboratories."
Smith also informed people about what to do once someone has tested positive for the virus has quarantined. "Once you've got the information you need, you do not have to be re-tested to go back to school, to go back to work."
Smith says the county has been using remdesivir, an anti-viral treatment for patients who are the sickest. "We're finding great success with it. It's actually doing very well. And right now, we're okay with getting."
Leaders encouraging everyone in Morgan County to do their part. "It's mask, distance, and sanitize. So that is the treatment that we will continue to emphasize both in our schools and our public, the M-D-S," added Smith.