MADISON COUNTY, ALABAMA, Ala. — Madison County is now at a lesser risk for COVID-19 going from high risk to moderate risk.
Although there is a consistent number of new cases, the hospitalization rate is slowly going down.
Crestwood Medical Center CEO, Dr. Pam Hudson, said, "The public health measures are working. There is no other valid reason for these stable numbers."
The anticipated spike in coronavirus cases from Labor Day weekend also hasn't happened yet.
"This is the first major holiday that we've had where masking was a part of it from start to finish, and obviously that played a role in that," said Madison Mayor Paul Finley.
Many local high schools have had to cancel football games due to players testing positive. Leaders say it's likely we'll see more of these type of disruptions as the school year goes on.
"Some of these kids are asymptomatic. Maybe somebody at home tests positive. They in turn are put in a position where I now need to get tested and they get tested and they test positive," said Finley. "Everybody has a different level of how this hits them, and so we're going to continue to see that."
If you take a look at the numbers in Madison County, positive cases shot up from September 16th to September 23rd.
Dr. Hudson says this could be because there's more rapid testing being done.
"I mentioned robust and repeat testing that is going on in our nursing homes and in our colleges and universities, and so most of the new case increases, public health is attributing those to that increase in testing. The majority of those cases I'm told are asymptomatic," said Dr. Hudson.
Health officials are also reminding people that testing is not a substitute for quarantine.
"People assumed that if they were tested and it was negative that they were okay to go to work or school or be out in public, and that's not the case," said Dr. Hudson. "If you think you've been exposed, you should quarantine regardless of when and where you got a test."
Local officials met last week to discuss how to distribute a potential COVID-19 vaccine. They say they hope to have a complete plan by the end of September.
To watch the full September 23rd Madison County COVID-19 update, click here.
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