From The Tribune staff reports
MONTGOMERY — Alabama reported its first COVID-19-related death of anyone under the age 25 on Wednesday night following the deaths of an infant and a teenager.
The Alabama Department of Public Health announced the news late Wednesday night that an infant and a teenager died as a result of contracting COVID-19. The infant’s death is currently under review for underlying health problems.
“Due to respect for the families of these patients and HIPAA guidelines, ADPH cannot release further details of these investigations,” the APDH said in a statement.
Neither patient had Multi-system Inflammatory Syndrome-Children, which has been found in children throughout the country and is linked to COVID-19.
The deaths comes as Alabama continues to report an increase in coronavirus cases. As of Thursday morning, the ADPH recorded 21,626 positive cases with 739 deaths. In all, the number of daily cases continues to rise with daily testing hovering around 5,000. Additionally, the number of daily hospitalizations also continues to climb.
Since the state reopened, the number of positive daily tests has doubled from around 250 to 500 a day.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has not spoken to the public about the continued threat of COVID-19 since she further relaxed her safer-at-home order on May 21.