El Dorado nursing home reports 18 COVID-19 cases

A nursing home in El Dorado has reported 18 positive cases of COVID-19 split among staff and residents, according to the Arkansas Department of Health.

Courtyard Health and Rehab, located at 2415 W. Hillsboro in El Dorado, had 12 residents and six health care workers who have tested positive for the novel coronavirus Tuesday afternoon at 4:30, according to the ADH. A staff member that is authorized to speak to the media was not available Tuesday afternoon.

The facility’s website includes a notice about steps being taken to control the spread of COVID-19 within their facility, which includes hiring extra staff, maintaining communication with the ADH and United States Centers for Disease Control,

aggressive testing, barring staff members experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 from working, restricting visitation and implementing temperature checks for those who do enter the facility and maintaining communication with the families of residents.

“As always, we remain committed to providing exceptional care to our residents and keeping you informed,” their site reads. “Thank you for trusting us with the care of your loved one. We are dedicated to serv

ing our residents and will do everything possible to ensure their safety.”

No deaths at the facility related to COVID-19 had been reported to the ADH by Tuesday afternoon.

According to the ADH, Union County’s confirmed caseload grew by four between Monday and Tuesday to reach 80. Twenty negative tests were also returned in that period.

No new deaths have been reported, keeping Union County’s total at four deaths.

Union County had a positivity rate of 15.1% and a mortality rate of 5% Tuesday afternoon. The county’s confirmed cases account for 1.9% of all cases in Arkansas.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson said during his daily health update that the state’s death toll had increased to 95, up one from Monday. He said 121 new cases had been confirmed, bringing the state’s total to 4,164. Over a quarter of those were in St. Francis County, where the Federal prison facility experiencing an outbreak is located; 21 of the new cases were in prison inmates.

He also announced the ADH would be sending a cease and desist letter to a concert venue in Fort Smith that has reportedly planned a concert for Friday in defiance of the state’s re-opening guidelines that dictate large venues may not resume operations until Monday.

The venue, TempleLive, which is located in what used to be a Masonic temple, issued a plan to the state which included restrictions for concert goers and plans to only allow 229 attendees, about 20% their normal capacity. The state’s directives for reopening large venues includes guidance that states only 50 people may be allowed at such a facility. Arkansas has received a 50-patient supply of remdesivir, an antiviral drug that has been used to treat diseases like ebola, which has also been granted emergency approval to use in acute COVID-19 patients, the governor said Tuesday.

The United States had 1.36 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 Tuesday afternoon, with 232,733 recoveries and 82,105 deaths reported. Worldwide, cases had reached almost 4.1 million and 283,271 deaths were reported by Tuesday afternoon.