Mobile mayor points to New Orleans in explaining rising coronavirus cases - AL.com

Mobile County leads Alabama in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases and is tops among the largest counties in the number of per capita cases per 100,000 residents.

Worse yet, Mobile County has the highest number of deaths related to the virus.

Mayor Sandy Stimpson, asked Wednesday on what might be the root cause, pointed to New Orleans.

Citing anecdotal evidence only, Stimpson said that during the onset of coronavirus cases in Mobile County, a connection to the “Big Easy” kept popping up.

“There was a connection to New Orleans because of the proximity we have to New Orleans and because the relationships our citizens have (to the city),” Stimpson said. “I’m not saying to blame it on New Orleans.

“But it’s a point that needs to be made on the infectious nature of this disease that just through an interaction with (someone in) New Orleans, or it could be somewhere else. But in this particular case, because we know New Orleans is a hot bed, it impacted the city of Mobile more than (it impacted) other cities in the state.”

Mobile County Health Officer Dr. Bernard Eichold declined to name New Orleans as a possible source for the virus spread in Mobile.

He said that compared to other states – such as Louisiana – “our death rate is not as bad.”

Indeed, New Orleans has been listed as among the few hot spots for COVID-19 since the pandemic erupted last month. As of Wednesday, there were more than 6,200 cases of coronavirus in New Orleans, which is more than the 5,495 confirmed in all of Alabama. Orleans and Jefferson Parish, combined, have double the amount of cases than all of Alabama.

According to the Louisiana Department of Public Health, there was a total of 25,278 positive coronavirus cases within the state, and 1,473 deaths. Alabama has had 178 confirmed deaths from the illness.

Mobile County is reporting 749 confirmed cases and 33 confirmed deaths from COVID-19, which is higher than the state’s largest county -- Jefferson County, where there are 710 confirmed cases and 30 confirmed deaths. Mobile County is Alabama’s second most populous county.

Eichold said that in Mobile County, there have been “clustered outbreaks” such as those occurring recently at nursing homes.

The worst among those occurred at Crowne Health Care on Navco Road southwest of downtown Mobile. According to reports, there have been more than 94 people within the facility who have tested positive for COVID-19, with at least 10 deaths reported.

The situation was so bad that the Alabama National Guard is assisting in clean up.

A second outbreak has occurred at Lynwood Nursing Home located along Halls Mill Road in west Mobile. According to the nursing home’s website, an unknown number of residents and staff have tested positive for COVID-19.

“This is a challenge for our long-term care facilities,” Eichold said. “We have over 30 facilities. But over 90% of those have not had a case of COVID-19. A large number haven’t had any cases. But when it does occur with a high risk population in close proximity of each other, the outcome is not good.”

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Mobile mayor points to New Orleans in explaining rising coronavirus cases - AL.com
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