COVID-19 update
EDITOR’S NOTE: As a service to our readers, The Sentinel-Record will publish updates released each weekday by the city of Hot Springs and the state of Arkansas.
The following stats were shared Monday at Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s daily COVID-19 news conference in Little Rock and posted on the Arkansas Department of Health’s website:
• 24,253 total confirmed cases, up 2,178 from 22,075 on Thursday.
• 6,127 active cases, up 29 from Thursday.
• 17,834 recoveries, up 2,136 from Thursday.
• 292 deaths, up 13 from Thursday.
• 337 cases requiring hospitalization, up 65 from Thursday.
• 81 cases requiring a ventilator, up 12 from Thursday.
• 285 cumulative cases in Garland County, up 18 from Thursday.
• 75 active cases in Garland County, down six from Thursday.
• 209 recoveries in Garland County, up 24 from Thursday.
• One death in Garland County, no change from Thursday.
The curve of new infections in the Health Department’s Northwest Public Health Region has been going down for more than a week, but the central region’s is rising. Garland County is in the central region.
Tracing the source of new infections has been difficult, officials said Monday, as the central region’s upward trend isn’t linked to an industry or activity. The rise in cases in the northwest was primarily connected to the poultry industry.
“We have a high population density here and a whole lot of individuals at risk,” Dr. Nate Smith, Health Department secretary, said of the central region. “It’s not only something we need to watch but take action, so we don’t have something happen in central Arkansas like what we saw in northwest Arkansas. It could be particularly challenging to control that here.”
Hutchinson said the state has entered into a $20 million con
tract with General Dynamics for contact tracing services, with the first of 350 tracers beginning work this week. Those interested in applying for contact tracing work with the contractor can go to http://www.gdit.com/ careers.
The state plans on appropriating an additional $20 million from its $1.25 billion in federal coronavirus relief to contract an additional 350 tracers, which would give the state close to 1,000 when the full complement of contract workers are added to the state’s team of tracers.
Health Department Chief of Staff Stephanie Williams urged cooperation with contact tracers. She provided the phone number, 877-272-6819 or 877-ARCOV19, that will appear on caller ID when they call. She said they will attest to their legitimacy by asking call recipients to verify personal information.
Hospitalizations rose 24% over the holiday weekend to a peak of 337 Monday. Smith said the rise follows the growth in new infections that began a few weeks earlier.
“Hospitalizations are a lagging indicator,” he said. “We’ll see cases and then we’ll see hospitalizations go up after that, because it takes a little while for people to get sick enough to end up in the hospital. We’re going to have to watch that carefully, and we’re in contact with those hospitals that have a large number of COVID-19 patients to make sure they have capacity.”
The 439 new cases reported Monday held the state’s seven day rolling average of new cases at 569.57 for a second day in a row. Monday’s average was 6.77% lower than the June 28 peak of 608.14.