The Mobile County Health Department (MCHD) confirmed on April 1, 2020, that a second Mobile County resident had died after testing positive for COVID-19. The individual was a 74-year-old man with a history of underlying medical conditions who had been hospitalized after presenting with known COVID-19 symptoms.
Dr. Bernard H. Eichold II, the county’s health officer, addressed the death directly. “We are sad to report our second death in Mobile County,” Eichold said. “The patient was a 74-year-old male with known COVID-19 symptoms and had other underlying medical conditions. The Mobile County Health Department team is conducting case contact disease surveillance of individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19.”
Eichold also used the announcement to reinforce public health guidance for local businesses and residents as the outbreak continued to spread through the community. “Merchants should limit the number of customers in their stores and have markings in check-out lanes for 6-foot spacing,” he said. “Everyone should take this (illness) very seriously and keep persons infected in their thoughts and prayers.”
Health officials noted that most people infected with COVID-19 experience mild respiratory illness, including fever, cough and shortness of breath, though some cases become severe enough to require hospitalization. MCHD and the Alabama Department of Public Health urged residents experiencing symptoms to contact their healthcare provider first, so appropriate precautions could be taken before an in-person visit.
The health department also renewed calls for residents to follow statewide orders limiting gatherings to fewer than 10 people and maintaining at least six feet of distance from others in public, along with basic precautions such as frequent handwashing, as case counts and, increasingly, deaths mounted across Mobile County in the early days of the pandemic.