Alabama has 1,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and 24 reported deaths, though only 17 of those are confirmed by the Alabama Department of Public Health, according to numbers published Wednesday morning.

With the latest numbers, Jefferson and Washington counties reported their first deaths and Mobile has now had two deaths.

The Alabama Department of Public Health has started publishing the number of reported coronavirus deaths next to the number of state confirmed deaths.

More:First coronavirus-related death reported in Montgomery County

Reported deaths and deaths from this illness represent the number of individuals who have a positive lab result and are now deceased, according to the ADPH.

To count a person who died from coronavirus disease, the medical record of the deceased person has to be reviewed by a physician and Infectious Disease and Outbreak staff. Once review is complete, if the death is attributed to coronavirus, the individual will also appear in deaths from this illness.

Reported death totals are cumulative and will never decrease, meaning they include those that are confirmed. The reported numbers will come from local and hospital health officials.

The East Alabama Medical Center in Lee County began self-reporting the number of coronavirus patients who died in their care. Since Friday, seven people have died at EAMC, five from Chambers County and two from Lee County, according to an email from a hospital spokesperson Monday.

The ADPH website only lists four confirmed deaths in Chambers.

It's unclear where the remaining seven cases were reported from.

The Alabama Department of Public Health has confirmed deaths in Montgomery, Mobile, Madison, Shelby, Lauderdale, Jackson,Tallapoosa, Lee, Washington, Jefferson and Chambers counties.

Confirmed Alabama deaths by county:

Chambers (4)

Lauderdale (1)

Jackson (1)

Jefferson (1)

Lee (2)

Madison (1)

Mobile (2)

Montgomery (1)

Shelby (2)

Tallapoosa (1)

Washington (1)

Information as of the morning of Wednesday, April 1.

The state health department has yet to release ages of victims or concrete hospitalization numbers, though some hospitals around the state have begun issuing their own and pleas for supplies.

The same day the first coronavirus case was confirmed in Montgomery County, Gov. Kay Ivey issued a state of emergency and suspended public schools. Since that announcement, schools have been closed for the remainder of the semester.

The Alabama Department of Public Health announced all "non-essential" businesses would be closed while Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed put an indefinite curfew in place from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. each night.

Confirmed coronavirus cases by Alabama county:

Autauga (7)

Baldwin (19)

Bibb (3)

Blount (5)

Bullock (3)

Butler (1)

Calhoun (9)

Chambers (36)

Cherokee (2)

Chilton (11)

Choctaw (3)

Clay (2)

Cleburne (5)

Colbert (4)

Coosa (4)

Covington (2)

Crenshaw (1)

Cullman (8)

Dallas (2)

DeKalb (4)

Elmore (12)

Escambia (1)

Etowah (8)

Fayette (1)

Franklin (3)

Greene (3)

Hale (1)

Houston (8)

Jackson (8)

Jefferson (282)

Lamar (1)

Lauderdale (12)

Lawrence (3)

Lee (75)

Limestone (22)

Lowndes (1)

Macon (1)

Madison (100)

Marengo (4)

Marion (9)

Marshall (6)

Mobile (53)

Monroe (1)

Montgomery (31)

Morgan (20)

Pickens (4)

Pike (4)

Randolph (2)

Russell (1)

St. Clair (15)

Shelby (86)

Sumter (1)

Talladega (7)

Tallapoosa (13)

Tuscaloosa (29)

Walker (32)

Washington (3)

Wilcox (3)

Winston (2)

The same day the first coronavirus case was confirmed in Montgomery County, Gov. Kay Ivey issued a state of emergency and suspended public schools. Since that announcement, schools have been closed for the remainder of the semester.

The Alabama Department of Public Health announced all "non-essential" businesses would be closed while Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed put an indefinite curfew in place from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. each night.

The coronavirus causes flu- and pneumonia-like illnesses in those young and relatively healthy, though some experts caution it is still more dangerous and intense than the average flu for many patients.

But it can be deadly, particularly in those older than 60 or with pre-existing health conditions, and asymptomatic people can still transmit the virus without knowing it, experts say. Alabama doctors and hospital leadership tell the Advertiser that Alabama is not equipped to handle a large influx of cases all at once. Social distancing and isolation measures must be followed, experts say, to "flatten the curve" or spread out the number of infections over a longer period of time. If widespread infections happen too quickly, Alabama will run out of hospital beds and medical equipment.

Alabama coronavirus cases map

Our Data Central page includes an interactive map that tracks confirmed coronavirus cases, recoveries, and deaths from around the state, nation, and world.

The map is updated automatically and shows a closeup of each [state] county.

Or, zoom out to see numbers from around the nation and the world.

(Not seeing the map? Click here to get to our interactive Data Central page.)

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Kirsten Fiscus at 334-318-1798 or KFiscus@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @KDFiscus