No huge spike in COVID-19 cases after national title celebration

TUSCALOOSA Ala. (WBRC) -We all remember seeing hundreds of fans on the Strip celebrating another Tide national championship. There were concerns that it could turn into a COVID-19 super spreader event.

But there hasn’t been a huge spike in cases there since then. Today, Mayor Walt Maddox said the COVID-19 situation in Tuscaloosa is improving including a downward trend in hospitalization.

Health experts cringed after seeing hundreds of people on the Strip celebrating Bama’s win.

UAB’s Dr. Michael Saag says it appears the situation hasn’t turned into a super spreader event.

“What it tells me is there weren’t that many people in the group who were actually infected. It doesn’t take many but I suspect if there had been a more of a critical mass of people who were infected at that moment in time that there would have been more spread,” Dr. Saag said.

There were over 700 new COVID-19 cases in Tuscaloosa County this past week according to Mayor Maddox. He believes some of those new cases are a combination of UA students returning to campus and as well as the university reporting over 200 new cases.

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