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Alabama has reported at least eight patients spread across six nursing homes who have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, according to a Saturday report.

The numbers represented a startling jump from just two weeks ago when the state’s nursing homes reported zero cases. Among the coronavirus patients were one employee and two nurses, al.com reported.

A worker wearing protective gear is seen through a window as she works in a room of a woman who has tested positive for the new coronavirus. (AP)

NHS Management, the company running South Haven Health and Rehabilitation in Hoover, outside Birmingham, announced in a statement that residents who received care from the infected nurses were being tested, and no residents have been “infected with the virus at this time.”

At another facility operated by the company, a resident tested positive for the virus after exhibiting flu-like symptoms last week, al.com reported.

Former director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] Tom Frieden described nursing homes as “ground zero” for the coronavirus pandemic, given the residents’ vulnerable age and close proximities to each other.

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Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has implemented the CDC’s guidelines that all visitors be prohibited from nursing homes with the exception of end-of-life situations.

Despite these measures, cases in the state – like in much of the U.S. – have increased steadily.

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Last week, Alabama recorded its first death from the coronavirus.

As of Sunday, Alabama has seen at least 827 coronavirus cases with four deaths, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University.