University of Alabama System Restarts COVID-19 Dashboard

On the eve of classes starting, the Tuscaloosa campus reported 56 students and 26 faculty and staff testing positive.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — With students set to return to the classroom, the University of Alabama system restarted its COVID-19 dashboard on Tuesday. 

For the main campus Tuscaloosa-based school, 56 students and 26 faculty and staff tested positive from August 9-15. 

The first day of classes for the fall semester is Wednesday.  

The base numbers will be closely watched over the next couple of weeks. A year ago, the Tuscaloosa campus recorded 531 total cases after the first week of classes. 

The UA dashboard also listed at least 72.4 percent of the faculty and staff as having been vaccinated, a number it can't pin down exactly due to being partly based on self-reports. The number also only indicated individuals who have received at least one dose fo the COVID-19 vaccine. 

The average for the entire system in 69 percent. 

The academic school year begins during a dramatic surge in positive COViD-19 cases due to the Delta variant that quickly spreads. Not only have hospitalizations spiked, especially in the South, but according to data from the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) the numbers for those aged 18-29, 30-39 and 40-49 hit record highs this past week.

The state of Alabama has seen an average of 3,611 cases a day over the last seven days, which is quickly closing in on last fall's peak numbers (4,281).

Overall, in Tuscaloosa County there have been 28,454 cases and 473 deaths credited to COVID-19. 

The University of Alabama recently reinstated its mask mandate, requiring face coverings indoors on campus, where and when distancing is not possible. 

Although the athletic department is planning to have Bryant-Denny Stadium full of football fans this fall, there's already been a tightening of protocols, including practices closed to media and press conferences being limited to online teleconferences. 

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey made a recent plea for fans to get vaccinated.

"Here we are, one year later...we have learned to manage through this environment, but we do not have control of the COVID realities around us. COVID rates are at the highest we have seen in months, hospitalization rates continue to increase and the Delta variant is real."