Buffalo National River gets attention from visitors, officials amid virus outbreak

LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas state parks will be open only during daytime to prevent the spread of coronavirus among dense gatherings of visitors at trailheads and campsites, state officials announced last week.

Also, state officials and legislators joined in requesting that federal authorities close the Buffalo National River because so many out-of-state tourists were gathering there. “The trailheads are overrun with vehicles from every state in the country, including states with hot spots of COVID-19,” the letter from local legislators said.

According to a count on a single day, 60% of visitors to the Buffalo River were from out of state. The prevalence of out-of-state visitors goes against the efforts of medical professionals trying to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by coronavirus.

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses. The new version spreading across the globe causes “coronavirus disease 2019,” referred to with the acronym COVID-19. It can cause severe symptoms and sometimes death, but it also may not cause obvious symptoms.

The secretary of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism said that 28 other states had closed overnight access to parks.

Also, several popular trails have been closed. They are the Cedar Falls Trail and the Cedar Falls Overlook in Petit Jean State Park, the east and west Summit Trails at Pinnacle Mountain State Park and the Fossil Flats Mountain Bike Trail and Woody Plants Trail at Devil’s Den State Park. More closings can be expected.

Public health officials encourage going outside, but you must maintain a safe distance from other people. Ultraviolet rays from the sun degrade many viruses, the health secretary said.

However, gathering outdoors is as unsafe as gathering indoors. That’s why beaches have been closed. Popular music festivals and sporting events have been postponed or canceled to avoid dense groupings of people.

State park rangers have authority to disperse gatherings of people and to issue citations for parking illegally.

The secretary of Commerce said that personnel in the Workforce Services Department had been realigned to better handle the flood of applications for unemployment insurance. The rate of applications had averaged 1,000 to 1,500 a week but has spiked to about 30,000 in a single week.

State revenue dropped dramatically due to the sudden downturn in economic activity. In late March the official revenue forecast for the current fiscal year was reduced by $353 million.

The filing deadline for state income taxes has been postponed to July 15. Also, the Department of Finance and Administration has suspended penalties for motorists who are late renewing their car tags.

The Human Services Department is now accepting documents by email and is setting up drop boxes in the lobbies of local county offices. This is to help people applying for ARKids, food stamps (SNAP) or Temporary Employee Assistance, and people who need to provide additional documentation for other benefits.

Applying in person for benefits will take longer because of statewide restrictions that allow only 10 or fewer people at any one time in the lobby of a county office.