News Staff Report
The recent resurgence of the COVID-19 virus and the spread of its variant have begun to take a toll on Atmore and the rest of Escambia County, as the local death toll surpassed 100 with 14 new fatalities reported over the past seven days.
According to the Alabama Department of Public Health’s online COVID dashboard, at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, the number of county residents who had succumbed to the virus had swelled to 111. The total was 97 a week ago, on September 14.
The total number of confirmed cases within Escambia County also took a fairly significant leap.
ADPH reported that 6,509 cases of COVID-19 or its variant had been reported among county residents. On September 14, the total was 6,228 cases, indicating an increase of 281 cases within the past week.
Only 12 new cases had been reported at Atmore Community Hospital over the period, while D.W. McMillan Memorial Hospital in Brewton saw in increase of 73 (from 1,438 to 1,511). The remainder were reported by county health officials.
State health officials continue to encourage vaccinations, masks, good hygiene habits and social distancing as ways to fight the pandemic.