5 die from coronavirus complications in less than 48 hours at Lee County hospital

Five people who tested positive for COVID-19 have died at an Opelika hospital since Friday morning, the East Alabama Medical Center announced Saturday evening.

Three patients were from Chambers County and two were from Lee County.

The deaths more than double Alabama's previous coronavirus fatality count. Three deaths were reported this week by the Alabama Department of Public Health. A fourth was reported by the Mobile County Department of Public Health, though it is not yet included in ADPH's official count.

EAMC said its recent fatalities are also not reflected in the statewide count, but hospital leaders felt it was important information to publicize to underscore the severity of the coronavirus situation.

“Our hospital family expresses its collective condolences to the families of these five patients,” stated Laura Grill, EAMC president and CEO. “As everyone knows, this virus has taken a toll on our nation and world, and our community is not exempt from that. Our hearts and prayers are with these families at this very difficult time.”

Grill added that “the ICU staff, respiratory therapists and physicians who worked most closely with these patients are especially struggling and we ask that the community lift them up today just as they have been lifting up our whole organization the past two weeks.”

EAMC said they currently have 19 other patients hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19 diagnoses. Five people who were diagnosed have since been discharged after treatment.

Another 22 patients in the hospital are suspected to have COVID-19 and are awaiting test results, while 14 hospitalized patients doctors thought may have the virus have tested negative.

Confirmed coronavirus cases in Alabama reached 762 by 10:30 a.m. Sunday.

All but 13 Alabama counties confirmed at least one positive case. Apart from Fayette County in northwest Alabama, all other remaining counties were located in the rural Black Belt and Wiregrass regions of the state.

Though Alabama was one of the last states in the United States to confirm a case of coronavirus amid testing concerns, the state has seen an exponential rise in the past week. Less than 150 cases were confirmed as of Monday morning.

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.

A data analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation found Alabama ranks among the top six most at-risk states for its adult population. The analysis determined 46 percent of Alabama adults are considered “high-risk” adults, due either to their age or chronic health issues such as diabetes or high blood pressure.

In Jefferson County, the state's largest hot spot, at least 55 people were hospitalized as of Friday night, according to UAB Hospital. More than half of its patients were on ventilators to help them breathe as of Wednesday, UAB said.

In Montgomery, Baptist Health said it had treated eight total patients for coronavirus but six of those have since been released.

As cases soared this week, public life in Alabama further ground to a halt as civic leaders attempt to slow the spread of infection. Experts say social distancing and isolation is one of the few tools available to slow infection rates and prevent hospitals and medical staff from becoming overwhelmed.

Hospitals around the state have already experienced extreme shortages of equipment, particularly in the PPE, or personal protective equipment, categories, forcing workers to ration things like gloves and masks.

Though many are clamoring for widespread testing, some Alabama physicians like Dr. Ted Cox in Winfield, Alabama, say they must limit testing to symptomatic people to conserve PPE resources. Cox and other medical professionals around the state are urging Alabamians to take social distancing measures seriously and change their habits immediately.

"There is no way that we can handle a huge rush of people," Cox said. "If we overrun the medical facilities because we have too many cases at one time, there's no way we can handle it. We have three ventilators in this hospital. What a horrible, horrible, horrible situation it will be. You can just look to the folks in Italy, who have to decide who gets these ventilators and who doesn't."

More: 'Absolute unknown territory': Alabama hospitals brace for coronavirus onslaught lacking resources

Dr. Sarah Nafziger, the co-chair of UAB’s emergency management committee, acknowledged Tuesday the lack of PPE equipment around the state, which she said was due to issues outside of "local control."

"This is an unprecedented time, and we're making decisions based on what's best for everyone based on what we have in supplies today," Nafziger said.

In Lee County, the EAMC issued a call to businesses that might have PPE and items like 70% alcohol hand sanitizer.

Businesses may bring these items to the collection site outside of EAMC’s Main Lobby between 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. each weekday. An EAMC representative will be there to collect the supplies.

At 5 p.m. on Saturday, large swaths of businesses deemed "non-essential" were forced to close for at least three weeks.

Gov. Kay Ivey's Friday order covers entertainment venues, athletic events, non-essential “close-contact” service establishments, and non-essential retail stores.

Ivey balked at issuing a "stay at home" or "shelter in place" order as seen in other states, saying Friday government could "choke" business if not careful. But some mayors and local leaders have take steps beyond the governor's, issuing city-wide curfews and business closures.

In Tuscaloosa, Mayor Walt Maddox issued a 24-hour curfew, a de facto shelter in place allowing citizens to leave their homes only for things like food, medical care and socially distanced exercise.

Hours after Ivey's order on Friday, Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed announced a nightly curfew to run "indefinitely." On Saturday, Prattville announced it would begin enforcing a nightly curfew for minors. The Prattville ordinance had long been on the books but had not recently been enforced.

Confirmed coronavirus cases by Alabama county

Autauga (6)

Baldwin (10)

Blount (5)

Bullock (3)

Butler (1)

Calhoun (3)

Chambers (17)

Cherokee (1)

Chilton (7)

Choctaw (1)

Clay (2)

Cleburne (4)

Colbert (1)

Coosa (2)

Covington (2)

Crenshaw (1)

Cullman (7)

Dallas (2)

DeKalb (4)

Elmore (13)

Escambia (1)

Etowah (6)

Franklin (3)

Greene (3)

Houston (4)

Jackson (5)

Jefferson (196)

Lamar (1)

Lauderdale (13)

Lawrence (3)

Lee (56)

Limestone (16)

Lowndes (1)

Madison (62)

Marengo (3)

Marion (9)

Marshall (4)

Mobile (34)

Monroe (1)

Montgomery (18)

Morgan (15)

Pickens (1)

Pike (4)

Randolph (2)

Russell (1)

St. Clair (10)

Shelby (72)

Talladega (4)

Tallapoosa (5)

Tuscaloosa (23)

Walker (28)

Washington (2)

Wilcox (2)

Winston (2)

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Melissa Brown at 334-240-0132 or mabrown@gannett.com.