County COVID count climbs
Arkansas amends quarantine advice
The Arkansas Department of Health reported 21 new COVID19 cases in Union County Thursday, bringing the cumulative total of cases identified locally to 1,627. The cases in the county Thursday included 1,360 confirmed cases, up 16 from Wednesday, and 267 probable cases, up five from Wednesday.
According to the United States Centers for Disease Control, the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests that determine confirmed cases are more sensitive than the antigen tests that determine probable cases.
Active cases in Union County rose slightly Thursday, to 104, up one from Wednesday; they represented 6.4% of all the cases identified locally and included 79 confirmed cases and 25 probable cases. There were 1,464 Union County residents considered recovered from the virus Thursday, up 20 from Wednesday.
No new local deaths caused by COVID-19 were reported Thursday. Fifty-nine Union County residents have died as a result of the virus. In the Southwest hospital region of Arkansas, where Union County sits, there were 162 people hospitalized due to the virus Thursday, including 63 in intensive care units and 34 on ventilator support.
The ADH reported 160 new negative test results returned from Union County Thursday, indicating a one-day local positivity rate of 11.6% based on the number of new cases and results reported. In all, 16,382 COVID-19 test results have returned from Union County, including 14,755 negatives, indicating an overall local positivity rate of 9.9%.
Arkansas saw “the largest increase in new cases since the pandemic began,” Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Thursday; 2,789 new COVID cases were added to the state's cumulative total, which was 164,310 Thursday. The cumulative number of cases included 142,722 confirmed cases, up 2,017 from Wednesday, and 21,588 probable cases, up 772 from Wednesday.
Hutchinson gave an update on COVID-19 for the second time this week on Thursday. He discussed new quarantine recommendations being implemented by the ADH after the CDC updated its guidance, as well as the record-setting number of new cases in the state.
“We now have 32 counties that have over 20 new cases in the last 24 hours,” Hutchinson said. “This is a message to everyone — that wherever you are in the state of Arkansas that there are increased numbers of COVID cases, increased level of spread, and you have to protect yourself. You have to wear your mask, and keep your social distance.”
Hutchinson said new quarantine guidance has been developed by the ADH to match the new
CDC recommendations in large part. While it is still safest to quarantine at home for 14 days after an exposure to the virus, he said, those who receive a negative test result before the seventh day of their quarantine may leave home earlier; and those who do not receive a test but do not develop symptoms by the 10th day of their quarantine may be released after the 10th day.
The governor noted that long-term care facilities and congregate living facilities, like prisons, will have different guidance for coming out of quarantine. Dr. Jose Romero noted the devastating effect an outbreak can have in such a facility, and said there will be more strict testing requirements to exit quarantine for residents and workers at those facilities.
Romero also addressed the increased level of COVID-19 in Arkansas, pleading with Arkansans again to follow public health guidance to reduce the spread of the virus.
“Unfortunately, I believe this is going to continue,” Romero said. “This does not mean we can become lax in the use of a mask, distancing and hand washing. Now is the time to become even more stringent. This will spread if we do not attempt to bring it under control. There is still time to slow this spread, but we must do our share. This is a public responsibility … without your help, this can't be brought under control.”
Arkansas Department of Education Secretary Johnny Key said the new quarantine guidance will help schools in the state, noting that most districts that have had to pivot to virtual learning instead of on-site instruction have done so because too many staff members had to quarantine and substitutes were limited.
“This shortened time span will be very beneficial to our schools … Every day that we can salvage and save for on-site learning for our students is going to be a benefit to them,” Key said, adding that the new guidance doesn't mean school staff, faculty or students should let up in their efforts to stop the spread within their schools by social distancing, wearing masks and washing their hands.
“These things working together will help us continue to have a successful school year,” he said.
The state's active cases rose by 731 to reach 17,109 Thursday; they represented 10.4% of all the cases in Arkansas and included 12,822 confirmed cases and 4,287 probable cases. There were 144,624 Arkansans considered recovered from the virus Thursday, up 2,024 from Wednesday.
Hutchinson reported the deaths of 33 Arkansans that resulted from COVID19 Thursday, bringing the state's death toll to 2,555, indicating a state COVID mortality rate of 1.6%. There were 1,072 Arkansans hospitalized due to the virus Thursday, including 375 in ICUs and 190 on ventilator support.
Hutchinson also announced Thursday that he had submitted a proposal to appropriate 10 beds in the Veterans Administration hospital in Little Rock, including five ICU beds and five medical surgery beds, for COVID patients. He said it would cost about $1.9 million for the beds to be used that way for 30 days, with the state being responsible for about $500,000 of that.
“We hope that it will be approved within the next 24 hours,” Hutchinson said.
He also reported that 16,173 new COVID-19 test results had returned to the ADH Thursday, indicating a one-day positivity rate for the state of 17.2% based on the number of new cases and results reported. Since the state began testing for the virus, 1,868,470 results have returned to the ADH, including 1,699,577 negatives, indicating an overall positivity rate for the state of 8.8%.
At 4:45 p.m. Thursday, Johns Hopkins University reported 14,061,616 COVID-19 cases in the United States. Of those, 5,322,128 people were considered recovered, leaving 8,464,232 cases — 60.2% — active nationwide. There had been 275,256 deaths attributable to the virus by Thursday afternoon, indicating a national COVID mortality rate of 2%.
Johns Hopkins reported 64,977,782 COVID19 cases worldwide Thursday afternoon. Of those, 41,705,009 people were considered recovered from the virus, leaving 21,770,866 cases — 33.5% — active around the world. There had been 1,501,907 deaths attributable to the virus by Thursday afternoon, indicating a global COVID mortality rate of 2.3%.