MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — With more than 2,520 patients hospitalized statewide for COVID-19 and cases increasing steadily, Christmas week began in Alabama on Monday with health officials issuing new pleas for residents to take precautions in hope of avoiding a post-holiday catastrophe.

The illness caused by the new coronavirus already has killed more than 4,380 people statewide, and the 14-day rolling average for new cases is roughly double what it was in the summer at the previous high point in the state.

Dr. James Boyle, a pulmonologist in Decatur, described a dire situation in north Alabama, where cases are increasing at a quicker pace than elsewhere in the state. In Huntsville alone, he said, 500 new cases were confirmed last week, and multiple people are on ventilators.

More mask wearing and social distancing could help prevent an even worse spike, he said.

“Our ICU is full and I am praying for a Christmas miracle,” he told a news briefing. “I hope the forecasts models are wrong. I pray the numbers of infection and death go down after Christmas.”

More than 4,400 people in the state, mainly frontline health care workers, received the first dose of a two-stage vaccine last week in the first days it was available, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health. However, widespread vaccinations won't be available for weeks and the few doses that have been provided won't prevent a Christmastime spike.

Gov. Kay Ivey's office said she, the state health officer, Dr. Scott Harris; and the chief state medical officer, Dr. Mary McIntyre, would receive the vaccine Monday afternoon at a hospital in Montgomery.

Boyle said it's disappointing to go inside stores and see people without face masks or any regard for social distancing after so much illness and death. While some advocate stricter measures than the state's mandatory mask rule, Boyle said he didn't know if that would help.

“People have to decide if they care about others," he said.

More than 324,000 people in Alabama have tested positive for the coronavirus, and researchers at Johns Hopkins University said the rolling average number of daily new cases has increased by 638, a jump of almost 20%, over the last two weeks.

The virus causes only mild or moderate in most people, but it can be deadly for people with underlying health problems.

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