HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — At today's (April 22) Huntsville/Madison County news conference, two of the main topics of discussion were testing capacity and the possibility of ramping back up the local economy.
David Spillers of Huntsville Hospital addressed our local testing capacity. He said that they have done more tests in the last two days than they have on previous days, with a total of almost 500 tests, and as in other places, expect more positive tests as more tests are done.
When asked what more testing in the state would look like, the spoke about the importance of getting more testing into all communities, including small communities that have little or no testing capacity.
Spillers explained Huntsville Hospital can do in-house testing, but they're reserving that for patients in the hospital and emergency room. The hospital system uses four outside labs, including one state lab, that return results in 24-36 hours, and continues to follow the CDC guidelines for testing, generally testing people who are symptomatic or meet other guidelines. Their Flu and Fever Clinic remains open and is not at capacity.
Spillers also said that some local companies are requesting testing for all of their employees before they come back to work. He stated that they will not be doing this, as it does not follow CDC guidelines and they would rapidly run out of supplies and testing capacity.
Huntsville Hospital has done aggressive community outreach to do testing in high-risk communities, including the local homeless community, so that if there are cases of the virus people can get the help they need.
Everyone is reminded to sanitize, separate, and wear masks.
Local leaders and businesses are also looking at ways to reopen safely by looking a recommendations and best practices adopted by others. One of the main focuses is on how to reopen sit-down restaurants and what a safe restaurant would look like. When Madison mayor Paul FInley was asked what going out in public in two weeks might look like, he said "masking and distancing." Everyone who spoke emphasized the need for people to maintain distancing and practice good hygiene.
COVID-19 scams were also on the agenda, and leaders reminded people that scammers are using both the stimulus and COVID-19 to take advantage of unsuspecting people.
As for Marshall County cases, there are now 180 cases, with at least 75 connected to the Wayne Farms chicken processing plant in Albertville. According to David Spillers, there are only a handful of people hospitalized.
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