Arkansas hits new high for people hospitalized with COVID-19

LITTLE ROCK — The number of people in Arkansas hospitalized due to the illness caused by the coronavirus hit a new high on Tuesday as a White House task force said the state still has one of the highest rates for new virus cases in the country.

The Department of Health said five more people were hospitalized with COVID-19, bringing the total hospitalized in Arkansas to 529. The state’s previous high for COVID-19 hospitalizations was 526 on Aug. 4.

“What we’re seeing, we believe, are the aftereffects of the large number of cases we saw around the Labor Day weekend,” Dr. Jose Romero, the state’s health secretary, told reporters at a news conference.

The state’s COVID-19 fatalities increased by 22 to 1,469. The state’s confirmed cases rose by 532 to 84,203, while probable cases increased by 109 to 3,841. However, the actual number of cases in Arkansas is likely higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected and not feel sick.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson said the state still has adequate hospital space, despite the jump in hospitalizations in recent days.

“There is sufficient room for the cases. We’re not in a most difficult circumstance, but want to see those numbers go down over time,” he said.

A White House task force said in a weekly report that Arkansas had the ninth highest rate of cases per capita in the country last week. The state dropped from 7th in the country a week ago, but remained in the “red zone” for cases, the White House Coronavirus Task Force said.

The report said the state remained in the “yellow zone” for test positivity, ranking 19th in the country. The task force said the state had made “impressive” gains in some areas but called on it to increase its contact tracing capacity and test result turnaround times for schools and rural areas.

“These gains are fragile and quickly identifying positive cases with support for isolation will drive cases lower,” the report said.

The panel, which had previously called on Arkansas to close bars, in its latest report recommended limiting indoor dining and bar hours in areas with high transmission rates. Hutchinson said he’s not looking at any additional restrictions on businesses.

The new deaths from the virus include Steven Farmer, the chairman of the Craighead County Republican Party, who died Monday after being hospitalized due to COVID-19. Farmer, 67, was also superintendent of the Jonesboro

Human Development Center.

Hutchinson announced Tuesday the state was easing some limits on visitation at nursing homes. Under the new rules, the state is allowing expanded visitation at long-term care facilities if they haven’t had a new coronavirus case in 14 days and meet other other requirements.

The state also issued guidance for Halloween activities, including recommending limiting the number of houses children visit and not substituting costume masks for cotton masks.

The guidelines recommend lower risk activities like virtual costume contests and avoiding higher risk ones like traditional trick or treating or crowded parties.