Baldwin County Schools recorded 232 COVID-19 related absences on the first day back to class after the holiday break.
That number includes students and employees who were absent because they were ill with COVID-like symptoms, were exposed to the disease or tested positive. It does not include undiagnosed, unreported or asymptomatic cases.

On Tuesday the county reporter 124 COVID-19 related absences and on Wednesday the schools reported 128 cases. In December before the holiday break the daily counts were typically zero cases.

The rise in cases is in step with a surge being felt across Alabama and the nation.
In the first four days of 2022 Alabama logged 7,787 cases. For comparison, it took more than one month for the state to reach 7,633 cases in 2020, logging those numbers between March 3 and April 23 of that year.

Currently the positivity rate across the state is 38.5 % and 39 % in Baldwin County. It is the highest that number has ever climbed during the pandemic.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention blames the rapid spread on the Omicron variant of the virus, discovered in December. Leaders at the University of Alabama at Birmingham this week said cases are skyrocketing. However, hospitalizations are not.
"They are increasing, but not as quickly," said Dr. Sarah Nafziger, Vice President of Clinical Support Services at UAB Health System during a press conference earlier this week.
Alabama saw emergency rooms inundated with more than 3,000 COVID-related hospitalizations in 2021. The number of inpatients reached their peak during the Delta variant driven surge in August and September of last year.
On Monday the number of people hospitalized with COVID in Alabama topped 1,000 for the first time since October.
The CDC has reported that the majority of severe illness during this latest surge has occurred in patients who are unvaccinated, including children, fueling surges in children's hospitalizations.
The CDC reports that the seven-day-average of daily hospitalizations for children between Dec. 21 and Dec. 27 was up 58%.
Meanwhile vaccination rates for children remain low across the nation. The CDC reports that less than 25% of Americans under the age of 18 are vaccinated. In Alabama only 1.45% of children ages 5 - 11 have taken the COVID-19 vaccine. Among ages 12 - 17, in Alabama 4.95% are vaccinated.
In Baldwin County among ages 5 - 11 only 1.13% are vaccinated. In the 12-17 age group, roughly 4.67% are vaccinated. On Monday Baldwin County School Superintendent Eddie Tyler announced that the school system will not require masks for students or staff as the new semester begins.