Cases up 406 as reopening enters phase 2

The cumulative number of covid-19 cases in Arkansas reached 12,501 and deaths increased by two for a total of 179 on Sunday, according to the Arkansas Department of Health, even as the state enters the next phase of a plan to roll back capacity restrictions on businesses today.

Between Saturday and Sunday, the Department of Health recorded 406 new covid-19 cases. Of those cases, 4,212 are active, a figure that excludes the number of individuals who have recovered or died from the disease.

As of Sunday, 201 people have been hospitalized as a result of the virus, a decline of three from Saturday, according to the Health Department. Forty-five people are on ventilators.

Over the course of the past three weeks, based on the available testing data, Arkansas has experienced what appears to be a much larger spike in community cases than the initial wave of covid-19 cases reported in late April.

The Health Department reported hundreds of new covid-19 cases every day last week, including a single-day record of 731 new cases recorded between Thursday and Friday.

Northwest Arkansas has emerged as a regional area of concern. As of Sunday, there were 1,031 active cases in Washington County and 585 active cases in Benton County, compared with 324 in Pulaski County. The Health Department’s latest data on occupational clusters shows poultry company Tyson Foods has reported a total of 213 covid-19 cases among workers at a Springdale plant. Twenty of those workers have recovered, the company reported.

When asked at his news briefing on Friday about the impression that whatever the state is doing is not working, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said, “No, I don’t see that what we’re doing is not working. We might not be doing it well enough. I think the strategy is the right strategy.”

While acknowledging that “we can do better” implementing this strategy of social distancing and other public-health requirements, Hutchinson said other states are also struggling with an increase in cases.

As a result of the “unpredictability” of the coronavirus, the governor said, “how you plan for [what it’s] going to be like in July or August is difficult.”

Businesses which were previously limited to onethird capacity under the phase 1 reopening plan can increase the number of patrons allowed inside to twothirds capacity starting today, albeit with physical distancing, the governor announced Wednesday.

Restaurants can resume dine-in service with up to two-thirds capacity as long as they maintain 6 feet of distance between occupied tables. Dining establishments must also require masks for employees who come into contact with patrons, according to the Department of Health’s phase 2 directive.

The phase 2 directive governing gyms, fitness centers and athletic clubs removes a requirement barring entry to people who have visited New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, New Orleans or overseas locations within the past 14 days, but leaves in place a requirement that says patrons must wear masks except when actively exercising and still mandates a 12-foot distance between patrons.

Large indoor venues such as movie theaters, auditoriums and convention centers can accept up to two-thirds capacity, as long as they submit a plan to the Health Department for advance approval if the venue will exceed 100 people while operating at two-thirds capacity.

In spite of the spike in new cases in Northwest Arkansas and the accelerating number of new cases statewide, Hutchinson said last week that the state would move to phase 2 of the reopening plan.

He argued that the data shows “no evidence of a correlation” between the growth in new cases and the lifting of restrictions on businesses such as restaurants, barbershops and salons.

“The conclusion is that the state is best served moving together, even though we have various regions with a current spike in cases,” Hutchinson said on Wednesday.