HUNTSVILLE, Ala. —
Across the country, COVID-19 measures have put in place to ensure citizens maintain social distancing.
Madison County leaders say we’re doing a good job adjusting to the local changes, but, we still have a long road ahead.
Leaders gave the latest update during the Wednesday afternoon press conference at Huntsville City Hall.
David Spillers, CEO of Huntsville Hospital starts off by saying, “The good news today is, not much has changed since I last talked to you on Monday.”
Officials say COVID-19 numbers are staying fairly consistent in Madison County hospitals. But, there are new changes in the works.
The Huntsville Hospital system is asking for those with medical experience to reach out and provide their information in the event of a major surge. David Spillers adds, “One of the things that we have to have when we do surge planning is-- we have to have people.”
Spillers says they’ll keep a database of locals who can step up to help if, for any reason, hospitals are over-capacity and under-staffed. He says, “We know there are people because we’re getting phone calls from people who have said ‘hey if you need help, I’m out here.’ We’re going to start formally tracking that.”
A surge in COVID-19 numbers has been expected. Steps are being taken to make sure everyone in our community can have access to testing. Spillers says, “We’re going to go out and try to start testing our homeless community. We’ve got a coordinated effort to go ahead and start doing that.”
Huntsville Hospital says testing for those experiencing homelessness is expected to start later his week.
Mayor Paul Finley says, the COVID-19 numbers are lower than anticipated. Finley adds, “Even a week ago, and I wrote down a couple of numbers… They projected up to 8,000 deaths. They’re now projecting that number down to 634. That’s still a sad number, but that’s a good, positive thing to see.”
Some have questioned the accuracy of Alabama’s numbers as testing wasn't readily available across the state.
David Spillers says, “While Alabama as a whole may have struggled a little bit, I don’t think that’s the case for North Alabama.”
There are concerns that the virus is impacting people differently, depending on race, health history and more.
David Spillers says, “We [in the Huntsville Hospital system] don’t have a large enough sample in our group, the number we tested-- I think-- to be statistically significant.”
But, David Spillers does say, certain conditions can put you at a higher risk for complication. He adds, “A vast majority of those people have some other conditions. It can be everything from obesity to COPD, heart disease, diabetes, the whole list.”
But, that doesn’t mean that any of us should not take COVID-19 seriously. Spillers adds, “I think that’s one of the scary things about this disease. It will get people that look absolutely healthy every other way.”
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