MADISON COUNTY, ALABAMA, Ala. — Madison County covid-19 cases continue to decrease for another week. Local health leaders say they are optimistic with the current trend and are hopeful that the mask ordinance is doing what it is supposed to.
Because of the current numbers, health officials have commended local hospitals and first responders on their continued hard work. Dr. Pam Hudson with Crestwood Hospital said the virus is seemingly becoming more maintainable.
The chances of being placed in the intensive care unit and eventually being put on a ventilator have now been reduced by half, according to Dr. Hudson. She said the current medications (remdesivir and dexamethasone) have contributed to the retrogression of the virus in hospitals.
"Not as many people are getting very, very badly ill because they are using the remdesivir and the dexamethasone earlier in the course of care," she added.
Right now, there are 121 in-patients in Madison County hospitals, 36 of those are in ICU, and 22 are on ventilators. Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle credits the community with abiding by the mask ordinance.
"Our community has taken this very seriously. You see people wearing masks on a regular basis, we're staying separated, we're staying sanitized," Mayor Battle said, "we're trying to make sure we're doing the best we can through this situation and we have a smart population who is following through with what we need to do."
Madison County continues to set the example across Alabama. Now that schools are coming back into session, the need to reduce the spread is at an all time high. Dr. Hudson said that parents and teachers must work together in order to help the schools stay in session.
"What we are trying to do is to keep the transmission rate low enough so it makes sense when we identify a case. Somebody who may have contracted it from home and they're in the school system and perhaps they have close contact with other people. So to be able to do that contact tracing, so you're not having to say 'ope there's another case gotta close schools,'" said Dr. Hudson.