25 Siloam Springs residents die of covid-19

■ The number of cases continues to climb.

At least 25 Siloam Springs residents have died of causes related to covid-19 since the pandemic began, according to data from the Benton County Coroner’s office.

There were a total of 315 covid-19 related deaths in Benton County in 2020 and two deaths have been reported in the county in 2021, according to the coroner’s website, benton countyar. gov/ coroner/. Some of the people on the list were residents of other counties or states who died in Benton County.

The list published on the coroner’s website does not include names, but it does include information such as gender, race, ethnicity and age. The first death of a Siloam Springs resident occurred on July 7 and the most recent occurred on Dec. 25. The oldest Siloam Springs resident listed was 101 and the youngest was 60.

Two 101-year-olds have died in Benton County. The youngest person in the county to die was 31.

Thirteen of the Siloam Springs residents on the list were males and 12 were females. Twenty of the residents’ races were listed as white, four were listed as “other,” and one was left blank. The ethnicity of six of the residents was listed as Hispanic.

During the last week, the number of covid-19 cases in Siloam Springs has continued to climb.

In the geographic area of the Siloam Springs School District, 247 new infections were reported in the 14-day period ending on Jan. 4, giving the area a rate of 106 new infections per 10,000 residents and a cumulative total of 1,807 known infections, according to the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement website, achi.net. The numbers are up from 205 new infections, a rate of 88 new infections per 10,000 people and a cumulative total of 1,611 cases on Dec. 28.

The community of Siloam Springs had 235 new infections during the same time period, giving the area a rate of 105 new infections per 10,000 residents, and a cumulative total of 1,770 known infections or eight percent of the community. The numbers are up from 197 new infections, a rate of 88 infections per 10,000 residents, and a cumulative total of 1,582 infections or seven percent of the community on Dec. 28.

As of Jan. 6, there were 30 positive active cases among Siloam Springs School District students and 78 students were being quarantined after being identified as probable close contacts. There were a total of 12 positive active cases among staff members and 29 staff members on quarantine. The cumulative total of cases in the district was 272.

Siloam Springs Nursing and Rehab was not listed on the Arkansas Department of Health’s Jan. 4 list of nursing homes that experienced cases in the past 14 days. The nursing home was reported to have a cumulative total of 60 patient cases, 36 staff cases and 11 patient deaths as of Dec. 28.

According to ACHI, other area cities had the following rates of new infection:

• Bentonville, 77 infections per 10,000 residents

• Fayetteville, 78 infections per 10,000 residents

• Gentry, 106 infections per 10,000 residents

• Lincoln, 87 infections per 10,000 residents

• Rogers, 88 infections per 10,000 residents

• Springdale, 81 infections per 10,000 residents.