He worries about Alabama’s future at a time when the virus is posing more of a threat than ever.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Dr. Michael Saag spends much of his time treating patients fighting for their lives and working with colleagues who are overwhelmed and exhausted by the relentless battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.
But he enters a different world when he walks out the door of his Alabama clinic: one where many don’t wear masks, keep their distance from others or even seem aware of the intense struggle being waged against a virus that has cost about 140,000 lives nationwide and made so many – including the doctor – seriously ill.
The disconnect is devastating.
“It’s a mixture of emotions, from anger to being demoralized to bewilderment to frustration,” Saag said.
Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have increased an average of more than 1,500 a day over the past week in Alabama, bringing the total to more than 62,100 since the pandemic began in March. At least 1,230 people have died and health officials say fewer than 15 percent of the state’s intensive care beds are available for new patients. Some hospitals are completely out of room.
It’s not just an Alabama problem. About 250 miles from Birmingham, Dr. Chad Dowell warns that his hospital in tiny Indianola, Mississippi, is filling up and so are others, making it difficult to locate beds for the sickest patients even as people debate on social media whether the pandemic is real.
Inside the hospital at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, doctors and nurses in protective gear rush from one emergency to another. They struggle to comfort heartbroken visitors forced to say goodbye to dying relatives long distance via cellphone, Saag said, all while coping with the stress of whether they’ll be infected next.
The sharp increase in confirmed virus cases in Alabama has coincided with the reopening of restaurants, bars, theaters, gyms, sports leagues and churches that were all closed down when the virus first hit. Although most have opened at a diminished capacity and with restrictions in place, many patrons haven’t been following recommended precautions.
