Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
State health agency logs 695 more covid-19 cases
The Arkansas Department of Health reported 695 new covid-19 cases on Sunday as active cases topped 7,000, a day before a statewide mask mandate goes into effect as part of an effort to curb the spread in communities.
No new deaths were reported on Sunday, leaving the total number of coronavirus deaths in the state at 357.
Active cases rose by 135, from 6,884 to 7,019.
Correctional facilities accounted for 66 of the new cases, while 629 originated in the community, Health Department spokesman Gavin Lesnick said via email on Sunday. The number of hospitalized patients remained the same at 453, and the number of patients on ventilators increased by eight, to 105, according to Lesnick.
The increase in new cases on Sunday was down slightly from the day before, when 771 cases were reported.
New single-day cases exceeded 700 — a benchmark Arkansas did not reach until June 12, three months into the pandemic — on two of the past four days, illustrating the increased spread of
the virus in the state in recent weeks when compared to April and May. A total of 2,114 new cases were reported in Arkansas between Friday and Sunday, according to the Department of Health.
The cumulative number of covid-19 cases in the state since the start of the pandemic stood at 33,228 with the additional cases reported on Sunday.
The counties with the largest increases in new cases included Washington County with 80, Pulaski County with 74, Jefferson County with 54, Benton County with 43 and Sebastian County with 42.
Referring to the 14-day incubation window of the virus, state epidemiologist Dr. Jennifer Dillaha said she hopes that “if we are really diligent about all wearing our face coverings, then in about a week we’ll start seeing a downturn in the number of cases that are occurring in the community.”
When asked how officials arrived at the decision to implement a mask mandate in light of Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s initial resistance to the idea, Dillaha said, “Well, I haven’t really talked to the governor about that.”
“From a medical point of view, it’s been a strong recommendation all along. So the policymakers had to come to a determination of really what was feasible for implementing in Arkansas,” Dillaha said in an interview Sunday. “And I can only speculate as to what prompted the decision at this time.”
Thursday’s executive order from the governor requires face coverings in non-familial indoor and outdoor settings where social distancing of 6 feet cannot be achieved. It includes some exemptions, such as for children younger than 10 and people driving alone or with members of the same household. Counties where new cases of the virus are not seen for 28 consecutive days are exempt, as long as the county has “adequate testing,” according to the order.
Violators will be met with a verbal or written warning on the first infraction. Fines upon conviction may range between $100 and $500, according to the executive order.
Dillaha said that as more states implement social-distancing and face-covering measures to slow the spread of the virus, she expects it will have an effect on case numbers nationwide, which have surged so far this summer.
She suggested that “we’re at a turning point, and I suppose the turning points may be state-by-state since the mandates are at a state level.”
Targeted testing events facilitated by the Department of Health over the weekend yielded 125 tests in Ozark and 391 in North Little Rock, according to Lesnick.
A mask mandate, though necessary, was not something Hutchinson wanted to do, he said Sunday during an appearance on the ABC news program “This Week.” He characterized the measure as “not the first lever we pull.”
The governor described the mandate as a step to “relieve the pressure on our hospitals, to give us a hope to bring down those cases.”
While expressing concern for the economic outlook, Hutchinson said the state is trying to achieve a balance, “with the first emphasis upon saving lives.”
“That’s why we institute[d] the mask mandate,” Hutchinson said. “We will do more if needed. But we want to be able to see the data if we’re going to have to put in additional restrictions.”
Hutchinson, who was featured in a segment with Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, was asked by co-anchor Martha Raddatz about President Donald Trump’s stance on masks.
Hutchinson said that like Trump, he does not support a national mask mandate, adding that “the states are addressing this.”
But when pressed by Raddatz on Trump declining to wear a mask in public, with the exception of a July 11 visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Hutchinson stated: “We need to wear a mask. That example needs to be set by our national leadership.” The governor then turned to the latest coronavirus relief package being debated in Congress.
On the politicization of mask-wearing, Hutchinson said, “It shouldn’t be about politics.”
Late Friday evening, a hospital located in northern Arkansas announced that three employees had tested positive for covid-19.
Baxter Regional Medical Center in Mountain Home said in a news release that the three employees of the center’s heart clinic all work in close proximity to one another.
One of the employees tested positive earlier in the week and is suspected to have spread the virus to the other two after contracting it in the community, the medical provider said.
“Currently, Baxter Regional believes that the possibility of transmission to patients is low due to the employees wearing the proper PPE, but they are actively monitoring the situation and will conduct patient tracings where applicable to determine if any additional steps will be necessary,” the news release said.
According to the Department of Health, Baxter County had just 11 active covid-19 cases and zero deaths as of Sunday.
The governor described the mandate as a step to “relieve the pressure on our hospitals, to give us a hope to bring down those cases.”