Alabama counts more deaths than birthhs as Covid takes toll

Alabama population on course to shrink for first time ever as Covid takes toll State’s chief medical officer says ‘Our state literally shrunk in 2020’ as deaths exceeded births the Guardian

Alabama is shrinking under the onslaught of Covid-19, its chief medical officer said, as deaths in the state outnumber births for the very first time.

Speaking to reporters in Montgomery on Friday, Dr Scott Harris said: “Here in Alabama, we continue to see deaths at a really high rate … 2020 is going to be the first year that we know of in the history of our state where we actually had more deaths than births. ...

Harris said Alabama had recorded a preliminary total of 64,714 deaths in 2020, compared with 57,641 births.

According to Johns Hopkins University, 13,210 people have died of Covid-19 in Alabama....