478 new cases logged in state

Lower tally cheers governor

The Arkansas Department of Health reported 478 new covid-19 cases in the state on Sunday, down from last week’s peak of 838 new cases on Friday, for a cumulative total of 60,856 infections.

Twelve additional deaths pushed the state’s overall toll to 784.

Active cases rose from 5,473 to 5,664, an increase of 191.

Data on hospitalizations and patients on ventilators was mixed, with hospitalizations up seven over the day before for a total of 391, and the number of patients on ventilators down six for a total of 84.

The number of people whom the Department of Health considers to have recovered from the virus rose by 275, from 54,133 to 54,408.

In a statement on Sunday, Gov. Asa Hutchinson seemed encouraged by the fact that the latest cases represented a

decline from Saturday’s new case total of 795.

“These are better numbers than yesterday and should encourage everyone,” Hutchinson wrote on Twitter when announcing the new cases. “These are difficult times but so proud of our teachers, students, and athletes for a good start to the school year.”

Three of the latest deaths occurred in Washington County, two in Pulaski and one each in Benton, Sebastian, Miller, Columbia, Independence, Mississippi and Crittenden counties, according to Department of Health spokeswoman Meg Mirivel.

In an interview on Sunday, Dr. Joel Tumlison, a physician specialist for outbreak response with the Department of Health, said 478 new cases is better than 700 or 800, though he added that the state will have to wait to see whether the trend continues.

He called the decline in the number of active cases over recent weeks “a positive.”

The number of active cases as tracked by the Department of Health hit a record high during the second week of August, with more than 7,380 active cases, compared with 5,664 reported on Sunday.

The state has also experienced a recent decline in the number of hospitalized patients, which hit a peak earlier this month. At one point, 515 patients were in the hospital on Aug. 2 because of covid-19. However, at the moment hospitalizations are hovering around the lowest point since early July.

The lower number of hospitalizations is “I think, a good sign,” Tumlison said.

Additionally, he pointed to the percentage of patients in the hospital who are on a ventilator; as of Sunday, a little over one in five hospitalized patients in Arkansas were on a ventilator. That percentage was much higher early on during the pandemic, he said.

In light of the decline, Tumlison suggested that physicians and nurses “have learned so much about treating these patients that they’re intervening … with people early in things they can do to keep people from getting to the point that they need mechanical ventilation,” he said. “I think that’s also a good sign.

Cases in Pulaski County rose by 33 for a cumulative total of 7,024. Active cases in the county stood at 685, a decrease of nine.

In Craighead County, 22 new cases were reported. Active cases in the county increased by 12 to 268.

Cases in Benton County increased by 21 for a cumulative total of 5,334. Washington County’s cases rose by 33 for a total of 6,883 infections.

The Department of Health logged results from 6,051 tests on Saturday.

“These are better numbers than yesterday and should encourage everyone.”

— Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Twitter