1,349 cases added to Arkansas’ tally; deaths rise by 13

Officials note drop in infections, await post-Thanksgiving results

Arkansas’ count of coronavirus cases rose Saturday by 1,349 — a bigger increase than the day before but smaller than the number added a week earlier.

The state’s death toll from the virus, as tracked by the Department of Health, rose by 13, to 2,449.

In a tweet, Gov. Asa Hutchinson noted that the increase in cases was “down from last Saturday, but we will know more in the coming ten days as to how we did over Thanksgiving.”

“Continue to take every precaution and let’s not let up,” Hutchinson said.

The number of Arkansans hospitalized with the virus fell by one, to 1,010.

Those patients included 183 who were on ventilators, down from a record 192 on Friday.

After a record increase of 2,348 cases Thursday, the state added just 1,052 cases to its tallies Friday, a dip that officials attributed to a drop in testing because of Thanksgiving.

State Epidemiologist Jennifer Dillaha said the increase Saturday “was consistent with our general high levels of spread.”

She said it was good that the increase was smaller than the 1,905 cases that were added the previous Saturday.

“I am cautious, though, about putting too much stock into it because I’m not sure how the holiday would have affected it,” she said.

For instance, the Health Department said it had received the results of 8,683 polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, tests that were performed Friday, a number that Dillaha called “a bit low.”

A week earlier, the department reported receiving the results of 12,477 PCR tests that were performed on Nov. 20.

Similarly, the total of 1,295 antigen tests reported Friday was down from 2,491 the previous Friday.

“We may see the tests pick up after the holidays when people return and want to determine if they’ve been infected, or if they have symptoms, of course, they’ll want to be tested, too,” Dillaha said. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”

Despite public health officials’ warnings, she said, Thanksgiving gatherings will likely lead to a spike in cases late this week or next week, although it remains to be seen how big it will be.

“I’m trying to not be too pessimistic,” she said.

Of the cases added to the state’s tallies Saturday, 1,167 were confirmed through PCR tests and 182 were “probable” cases, which include those identified through antigen tests.

The state’s cumulative count of cases rose to 155,026.

That consisted of 136,071 confirmed cases and 18,955 probable ones.

The number of cases that were considered active rose by 34, to 16,942, as 1,302 Arkansans were newly classified as having recovered.

That was still down from the state’s high of 17,745 active cases on Nov. 21.

The average number of cases added to the state’s tallies each day over a rolling seven-day period fell Saturday for the second-straight day, to 1,601, after reaching a record of 1,824 as of Thursday.

Over the entire week, the state’s case count rose by 11,205. That was down slightly from the 11,655 cases that were added the previous week.

The state’s count of virus deaths rose by 12, to 2,249, among confirmed cases and by one, to 200, among probable cases.

Dillaha said five of the deaths were among nursing home residents.

Pulaski County had the highest number of new confirmed or probable cases at 122, followed by Benton County with 68, Sebastian County with 66, Saline County with 64, and Washington County with 59.

Among prison and jail inmates, the state’s count of cases rose by 34.

The number of people in the state who have ever been hospitalized with the virus rose by 40, to 8,819.

The number of covid-19 patients who have ever been on ventilators because of the virus rose by five, to 971.

According to the Health Department’s online dashboard of coronavirus information, the number of virus patients in intensive care units fell from a record 406 as of Thursday and Friday to 399 Saturday.

Meanwhile, the state Department of Corrections said an inmate who had been hospitalized with covid-19 died Wednesday at NEA Baptist Memorial Hospital in Jonesboro.

The inmate from the Grimes Unit near Newport was in his late 40s and serving a 10-year sentence for sexual assault, the department said.

Corrections Department spokeswoman Cindy Murphy said he was the state’s 49th inmate to die of the virus.

On Saturday, even before students return from Thanksgiving break, one school announced a shift to virtual instruction in response to virus concerns.

Citing an increasing number of employees who, “in a short period of time,” were required to quarantine after being near one or more people who tested positive, the Pulaski County Special School District said Saturday that Sherwood Elementary School will hold all of its classes online this week.

“Although the number of actual positive cases for COVID-19 are low, we want to ensure that all students and staff remain healthy and safe,” the district said in a news release.

All teachers and support staff members will work remotely during the week, the district said.

Parents who want a fiveday meal box should call the school at (501) 234-5756 between 8 and 10 a.m. Monday.

The boxes will be available for pickup that day from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

In-person classes at the school will resume Dec. 7.

“We strongly encourage all staff to avoid group activities outside of school and continue to wear proper PPE,” the district said in the release, referring to personal protective equipment.

“Together we can help stop the spread of COVID-19.”