Jackson County Reports Alabama’s First Coronavirus Death
By Scott Morris
UPDATED —An employee at the Jackson County Courthouse has died from the coronavirus, according to County Commission Chairman Tim Guffey, which could be Alabama’s first death from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Guffey released a statement today, which said the employee worked in a department of the courthouse that did not require regular contact with the public. The courthouse will not reopen, however, until at least April 6, he added.
“From the day that the part-time employee last worked, the expected incubation period has now expired,” Guffey said. “All county employees who work in the same department have been notified and none of them have reported any symptoms associated with the COVID-19 virus.”
Guffey said the county, located in the Tennessee Valley in northeast Alabama, will sanitize and check the area where the employee worked before allowing any employees to return to the courthouse.
“We will continue to monitor the situation to protect the health of all employees and the public,” he said.
Guffey did not identify the employee or say when the employee died
The Alabama Department of Public Health this evening confirmed the death. The victim had underlying health conditions and died out of state, according to the department’s news release.
The number of confirmed cases in Alabama jumped to 386 on March 25, according to the health department website. The department closes out the numbers each day at 4 p.m.
Jefferson County leads the state in the number of cases at 129. Other top counties were Shelby with 42 cases, Lee with 40, Madison with 35, Tuscaloosa with 15 and Montgomery with 13.
Jackson County had two confirmed cases of the coronavirus, according to the health department.
Ivey, Ledbetter go to court to try and allow voucher students to participate in athletics
Gov. Kay Ivey and House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter filed the complaint in Montgomery Circuit Court against the Alabama High School Athletic Association. They are asking a judge to block the association's ruling on eligibility and pave the way for the students to participate in athletics this year.
The world’s oldest and largest iceberg will soon be no more
The iceberg, known as A23a, has been on a journey following the current into warmer waters for months. Now, it has begun the predicted and natural process of breaking apart, and eventually melting.
Etsy sellers are being hit hard by tariffs and the end of the de minimis rule
For years, the U.S. was essentially "an extension of our domestic market," says an Etsy seller in Canada. But now the rules and costs are far more imposing.
What ICE agents can and cannot legally do during arrests
Tactics by immigration agents attempting to arrest undocumented immigrants have shocked the public and led to protests. But what is, and isn't, allowed by law when it comes to ICE arrests?
Trump’s D.C. takeover has led to more arrests. NPR looks at cases of those swept up
NPR combed through court records and other data related to Trump's takeover of D.C. police to get a better understanding of who has been swept up in the federal surge and what charges they are facing.
Who did a Fox News executive call a ‘reckless maniac’? Find out in the quiz
This week, we have monopolies (not the game), casting decisions and fashion passings. Plus a new Stephen King book! Have you been paying attention?
