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As the current health crisis continues to build, 6.5 million unemployment claims were filed last week.

Alabama saw 80,984 alone during the same time period, with 74,844 of those claims directly related to the COVID-19 outbreak, according to the Alabama Department of Labor.

A total of 338 of those claims came from Chambers County, an 86 percent increase from the previous week.

These numbers are bound to go up in the coming weeks, something the Alabama Department of Labor knows is coming and hopes they are prepared for.

“We are constantly updating our systems to handle the claims,” said Tara Hutchinson, Public Information Officer with Alabama Department of Labor. “Tens of thousands are getting through each day, but we know that not all are going through. We are experiencing record numbers of filers already.”

Patience and persistence will be key for those having to file for unemployment during this time. Workers filing claims will experience some technical issues, but Hutchinson says to be patient and keep trying.

“We will be able to retroactively pay claims from the day work was lost, so even if the claim isn’t filed immediately, workers will still be paid.” Hutchinson said.

There is no indication on how many claims will be made as ADOL does not project unemployment numbers.