MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) – Alabama’s state health officer said Friday that he is cautiously optimistic about improving COVID-19 numbers but urged people to maintain precautions such as wearing masks and avoiding crowds.
“This is the most optimistic we’ve been I think maybe since this all began,” Dr. Scott Harris told reporters in his weekly briefing.
Three major barometers of the pandemic’s severity – hospitalizations, daily new cases and the percent of tests coming back positive – have fallen to levels the state last saw in fall or summer. Although, state health officials expressed alarm when the state hit those numbers last year.
“We are not out of the woods, but we see how to get out of the woods. Please don’t stop doing the things that you are doing. This is not the time to ease up wearing your mask. It’s not the time to go be in large groups of people,” Harris said.
Alabama mirrors the national trend on improving case numbers. Medical officials have offered different possible reasons for the decline.