Cases of COVID-19 continue to rise with increases in deaths and hospitalizations up over the past 14-days.

According to the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADP), St. Clair County has 3,984 cases as of Monday. The county has had 55 deaths related to the virus. Over the last 14 days, there have been 486 new cases.

Statewide, Alabama has seen 234,080 cases and 3,459 deaths. Over the past 14 days, there have been 1,934 new cases. Total hospitalizations are just under 23,500 statewide.

With Thanksgiving this week and Christmas coming up in a month, the state health department is aware of the social family gatherings that take place. In light of this, they have released health guidelines to help control the spread of the virus during the holidays, breaking down gatherings into three risk groups: low, moderate and high.

ADP recommends avoiding high risk activities and areas, such as going shopping for Black Friday, attending crowded parties or going to large indoor gatherings with people outside of the household.

Activities of moderate risk include a small outdoor dinner with family and friends, visiting orchards, and sporting events with health protocols in place.

Low risk activities during the holidays include dinner with members of the household, virtual dinner with other members of the family, online shopping and watching sports and parades on television.