'Out of control': Alabama hits record virus hospitalizations

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey wears an Auburn University mask as she arrives to announce a statewide mask order during a news conference in the state capitol building…

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey wears an Auburn University mask as she arrives to announce a statewide mask order during a news conference in the state capitol building in Montgomery, Ala., on Wednesday, July 15, 2020. (Mickey Welsh/The Montgomery Advertiser via AP)

by: The Associated Press

Posted: Dec 1, 2020 / 06:15 AM CST

Updated: Dec 1, 2020 / 06:16 AM CST

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama has reached a new high for the number of people in state hospitals with COVID-19.

State health department numbers on Monday indicated that 1,717 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in the state. That’s the highest number of virus hospitalizations reported since the pandemic began. The previous high was a little over 1,600 in mid-summer. The new record comes before an expected spike in cases in the weeks following Thanksgiving gatherings.

A former state health officer, who now heads the Alabama Hospital Association, described the spread as “out of control.”