The spread of COVID-19 is a concern in Alabama after national championship parties across the state.
More than 10,000 people a day are becoming infected with the coronavirus in Alabama. Some health experts worry the national championship crowds yesterday could worsen the current outbreak.
Wes Stubblefield is the District Medical Officer for the Alabama Department of Public Health. He said outdoor celebrations are safer than crowded bars.
“The good thing is that being outdoors is safer than being indoors. It’s not completely safe, especially when you get a lot of people close together," he said. "When you’re outdoors, you have a much lower risk of transmitting the virus because there’s just more places for the air to spread out.”
Classes begin at the University of Alabama on Wednesday.
The COVID-19 positivity rate in Alabama is over 40 percent.
Stubblefield said that keeping college students in in-person classes should be a top priority.
“Most of the transmission is happening in unstructured settings like in homes and, when you visit people at parties," he said. "In structured settings where mask use is required, like in schools and businesses, we don’t see large outbreaks.”
The COVID-19 positivity rate in Alabama is over 40 percent.