Mobile health official clarifies reasoning for lack of coronavirus testing - AL.com

As coronavirus confirmations continue to spread around Alabama, Mobile officials continue to be frustrated over a lack of test kits and protective equipment for health officials.

On Friday, one county health official clarified a statement she made on Thursday alleging that coronavirus kits were diverted from Mobile so they could be utilized in areas with greater need.

Rendi Murphree, director of the Bureau for Disease Surveillance and Environmental Services with the Mobile County Public Health Department, said during a news conference Friday that she didn’t “intend to imply that Mobile County was the only jurisdiction not getting test kits.”

She added that there “are a lot of areas struggling to identify sources of specimen collection kits. I didn’t imply that someone was out to get South Alabama or Mobile County to restrict supplies to us.”

Murphree’s statement came after U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Fairhope, during an interview with Sean Sullivan on FMTalk 106.5, said there was “no truth” to rumors that testing supplies intended to arrive to Mobile had been diverted elsewhere.

“We expect to get personal protection equipment,” said Murphree. “We continue to request the materials for specimen collection and shipping.”

Few drive-up locations can be found in coastal Alabama for COVID-19 tests, and it’s unclear how many people have actually been tested. Murphree said she didn’t know how many tests had been administered in Mobile County, which is Alabama’s second-largest county.

A second positive confirmation in Mobile County occurred around 4:50 p.m., but the Health Department didn’t release any information about the person. The county’s first positive case of coronavirus occurred on Thursday – a young person under the age of 19.

Alabama now has 106 confirmed cases of coronavirus. At least 17,610 people across every state and three U.S. territories have tested positive for coronavirus, according to a New York Times database, and 237 people have died as of Friday night.

Murphree, during a news conference that occurred before the second positive case was announced, said the child who tested positive was doing much better. “The entire family is doing well at home,” Murphree said. “The child has been fever-free for two days. We are happy to hear that the child is recovering quite well.”

The city of Mobile, on Friday, set up barricade perimeters around two temporary drive-thru testing sites at The Grounds in west Mobile and at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Public works crews set up barricades all around the football stadium in preparation of crowds arriving for testing. But test kits weren’t expected to arrive to the city before the weekend, and no press conferences by either the Health Department or Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson were expected until Monday.

Stimpson, in a video statement posted to Twitter Friday, said he’s hopeful that the city will receive testing materials by late next week. The mayor said that the city’s four hospitals are doing “limited testing” and that tests are only be administered to people who are showing symptoms of COVID-19.

“Once we get kits, the city will help start the testing process,” Stimpson said. “As soon as we have them, we’ll have everything in place to have testing.”

Barricades were placed around the perimeter of Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala., on Friday, March 20, 2020, in preparation of testing for coronavirus. No testing has occurred on site because of a lack of testing kits and protective material. (John Sharp/jsharp@al.com).

Murphree said that Dr. Bernard Eichold II, the county’s health officer, has checked out both locations to make sure they were implementing “best practices.” Eichold and Stimpson butted heads over an order from the Health Department on Wednesday to shutter indoor dining at restaurants and bars.

“If the mayor is able to get the materials for taking specimen and send them off for testing, then we are excited about that and will provide as much assistance as possible,” said Murphree.

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Mobile health official clarifies reasoning for lack of coronavirus testing - AL.com
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