Arkansas seeking more contact tracers as coronavirus cases spike

LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Wednesday he's seeking another $22 million to hire hundreds more contact tracers to track coronavirus' spread in his state, where officials reported a near-record increase in virus cases and hospitalizations.

Hutchinson said he wants to direct money from federal coronavirus relief funds, which health officials say will bring the state's number of total tracers to 900. The state has 200 contact tracers and was already in the midst of hiring an additional 350.

"It's going to be essential, whether it's now or it's in the fall. Hopefully, that will be more than sufficient," Hutchinson told reporters. "But right now we have an insufficient capacity to do the job we need to in terms of our contact tracing."

The Department of Health reported the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19, the illness the coronavirus causes, rose by 19 to 267. At least 17,375 people have tested positive for coronavirus, an increase of 697 from Tuesday.

The department said 5,567 of those cases are active, excluding patients who have died or recovered.

The true number of cases is likely higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected and not feel sick.

The number of COVID-19 fatalities rose by three to 240.

Arkansas has seen a major upswing in virus cases since last month, when the state began allowing businesses that had closed because of the pandemic to reopen. The state's active cases have risen more than 230% since Memorial Day, and hospitalizations have increased nearly 170% during the same period.

The high infection rates have prompted New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to require travelers from Arkansas and several other states to quarantine for 14 days.

Wednesday marked the third highest single-day increase in cases for Arkansas. The new hospitalizations were the highest since officials announced 26 people hospitalized on June 8.

Hutchinson also said he'll make a decision by Aug. 1 whether to allow no-excuse absentee voting because of the pandemic. State law currently only allows absentee ballots due to illness, physical disability or the voter being unavoidably absent. Hutchinson waived the requirement for a primary runoff in April because of the pandemic.

A lawsuit filed Tuesday is seeking to require the state to allow no-excuse absentee voting or fear of contracting COVID-19 as an excuse.