The Alabama Department of Public Health on Tuesday reported 234 new coronavirus deaths – the most ever in a day.
This is the second time the record has been achieved so far this month. In just 26 days, the state has so far reported more than 2,000 virus deaths so far this year.
The rate at which virus deaths were reported in Alabama has so far accelerated dramatically in 2021. Tuesday’s huge total brought the state’s average of 7 days for reported deaths to 110 per day. This is only the seventh day since the pandemic began. The average of 7 days for reported deaths was over 100 and all seven days arrived in January.
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The state reports that 6,896 people have died so far due to the virus. Nearly a third of them were reported this year. ADPH reported 2069 deaths from the coronavirus this month – about 80 deaths a day. During the whole of 2020, the state never recorded an average of more than 60 virus deaths per day.
But that does not mean that 80 people die every day from the virus in Alabama. There is a big difference between when someone actually dies and when their death is officially reported as a coronavirus death. This process can take months, although the weakening of reporting is shrinking.
The death toll on Tuesday includes two deaths as far back as May 16 and another number from August, according to the date of death. But about half occurred this year. Of the 234 deaths in Alabama reported Tuesday, 115 occurred in January.
Wiregrass and Black Belt hit hard in 2021
Every province in Alabama has so far reported at least one death in 2021. Choctaw County, in western Alabama on the Mississippi border, reported two deaths this year – the least of any state. Jefferson County, the most populous county in the state and home of Birmingham, reported the most, with 352.
More than 1,000 people have now died in Jefferson County alone from the virus.
Only one other state has added at least 100 deaths so far in 2021 – Houston County, home of Dothan in southeastern Alabama.
Houston is one of several counties in southeastern Alabama – a region known as the Wiregrass – that have had relatively large increases in reported deaths so far in January.
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62 percent of all virus deaths ever reported in Houston County – where more than 100,000 people live – came in 2021. And it is one of only seven provinces that have reported at least ten deaths per 10,000 people so far this year. Three provinces in the area – Henry, Geneva and Covington, are also on the list.
No province reported more deaths per capita in January than Dallas, home of Selma in the Black Belt region of Alabama. Dallas reported 54 deaths in January, or 14.5 deaths per 10,000 people in just 26 days. The other provinces that reported at least 10 deaths per 10,000 people in January were Clay and Coosa – neighboring provinces in eastern Alabama.
Eight provinces, including Dallas and Houston, saw at least half of their total deaths this month. Henry has seen 68 percent of his total in the past 26 days – the highest percentage in the state. The others are Coosa, Russell, Geneva, Covington and Etowah.
Login reporting decreases
ADPH is examining old data and adding historical deaths to the state’s count since November. On January 12 – the only day the state posted at least 200 deaths in one day – ADPH added a note that the process was ongoing and that most of the deaths added at the time were old.
The average death reported on January 12 was about 100 days old, according to data from the independent data tracking website BamaTracker. But over the past few days, it appears the state has reported more recent deaths. Among the deaths reported Tuesday, the average age dropped to 54 days old.
The average of 7 days for reporting also dropped to 44 days – the lowest since at least October 14. This means that deaths reported by ADPH are now more recent.
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The way the state reports deaths makes it difficult to know exactly where Alabama stands in terms of the current death rate, which is changing our understanding of how deadly this virus has been since the beginning.
Data on the death date of ADPH show that 488 of the deaths reported so far in January actually occurred this month. Most of the rest took place earlier, although some had yet to get a date. But the total death toll for January will definitely rise as more time passes and more data comes in.
As of now, 787 of the 6,896 deaths in Alabama have not been assigned a date.
Do you have an idea for a data story about Alabama? Send an email to Ramsey Archibald at [email protected], and follow him on Twitter @RamseyArchibald. Read more information stories about Alabama here.