By Zach Hester, Reporter • zach@southerntorch.com
DeKALB COUNTY, Ala. — DeKalb County is labeled under the "very high risk" for contracting and spreading COVID-19 for the second week in a row.
The risk factor for the entire State of Alabama's 67 counties are released by the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) every Friday. The color-coded map show four different levels of spread for the coronavirus: very high (red), high (orange), moderate (yellow), and low (green).
According to ADPH, counties in the "very high risk" are advised to:
- Always wear face coverings in public
- Avoid non-essential travel & groups
- Avoid in-person visits with people outside of your household, if possible
- Avoid unnecessary hospital visits
At the time of press, DeKalb County had 2,942 cases of COVID-19 with 487 of those cases added in the last 14 days. 24 DeKalb County citizens have died since March due to complications from the virus.
Jackson County was also upgraded to the "very high risk" on the map last week. At 9 a.m. on Wednesday, October 14, Jackson County had 1,876 cases with 13 deaths.
DeKalb and Jackson counties were two of only five "very high risk" counties across the state last week. The others were Franklin, Limestone, Macon, and Morgan counties.
For more information, please visit the Alabama Department of Public Health on Facebook or at www.alabamapublichealth.gov. New risk ratings for each county will be released tomorrow.
