Ivey's Chief of Staff self-isolates after wife tests positive for COVID

Montgomery, Ala. – Jo Bonner, Governor Kay Ivey’s Chief of Staff, has been isolating since Monday after his wife tested positive for the coronavirus earlier this week. Bonner said his wife attended a visitation for a funeral last week where she came into contact with people in attendance who later tested positive.

Bonner has been working from home and has not come into contact with Governor Ivey this week. Radio host Dale Jackson first reported the news earlier this morning on air, prompting Ivey's Press Secretary, Gina Maiola, to issue a statement confirming the news. Ivey has had recent health scares, including a broken arm and treatments for lung cancer from which her doctor says is cured. Statewide, Alabama has seen three consecutive days of under 1000 new reported cases, causing the rate of reproduction number to drop under the all-important 1.0 number. In other words, for every new case of COVID-19 reported, less than 1 person is contracting it from that infected person.

In other COVID-19 news, UAB announced their in-patient number dealing with the virus has dropped nearly 30 percent, from 124 just a few weeks ago down to 97 yesterday. Alabama Hospital Association President Don Williamson pointed to the statewide mask order instituted by Governor Ivey in mid-July as having a direct impact on the declining numbers. However, in an article by WBRC, Williamson cautioned the state will likely face an increase in cases with schools re-opening and Labor Day weekend approaching. Additionally, Alabama will soon contend with flu season in the midst of a pandemic which will likely put an added strain on hospitals and their staff. Dr. Scott Harris, Alabama’s State Health Officer, said while the direction of new cases and hospitalizations is trending in the right direction, Alabama is “not out of the woods.”