COVID-19 update
EDITOR’S NOTE: As a service to our readers, The Sentinel-Record publishes 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:
• 61,224 cumulative cases, up 368 from Sunday.
• 727,035 test reports, up 4,861 from Sunday.
• 8.4% infection rate, no change from Sunday.
• 5,466 active cases, down 198 from Sunday.
• 54,961 recoveries, up 553 from Sunday.
• 420 hospitalizations, up 29 from Sunday.
• 797 deaths, up 13 from Sunday.
• 87 cases on a ventilator, up three from Sunday.
• 2,118 cumulative nursing home residents infected, up 36 from Friday.
• 22,538 test reports for Garland County, up 272 from Sunday.
• 20,958 private lab reports, up 271 from Sunday.
• 1,580 public lab reports, up one from Sunday.
• 6.3% infection rate, up from 6.2% Sunday.
• 147 active cases in Garland County, up nine from Sunday
• 1,252 recoveries in Garland County, up 12 from Sunday.
• 29 deaths in Garland County, no change from Sunday.
No Garland County public school districts were among the
30 the Health Department said
had five or more active student and staff cases as of Monday.
Lake Hamilton was on the initial list the Health Department released Thursday, with five active cases and 12 cumulative since June 15. The district said last week that it’s not posting its case numbers on its website. The Hot Springs and Lakeside districts are the only ones in the county posting that information. Hot Springs listed one active student case Monday, and Lakeside listed one active student case and one active staff case.
The 21 new cases reported Monday in Garland County ranked fourth in the state, raising the county’s rolling seven day average of new cases from
15.86 Sunday to 17.14 Monday. The average has been between
15 and 18 since Aug. 19.
The 11,300 negative test results added to the state’s testing total over the weekend didn’t substantially affect the county’s testing total, which had a combined 452 reports added to it Saturday and Sunday. The Health Department’s last data update Aug. 15 added more than
4,000 test reports to the county’s total, lowering the cumulative infection rate from 7.3% to 5.9%.
The Health Department said the more than 11,000 negative reports added over the weekend were from a commercial lab that hadn’t been reporting negative results to the state. The update had the biggest effect on Benton and Washington counties’ testing totals, adding 2,000 and 8,000 negative results, respectively.
Education Secretary Johnny Key said Cross County and Searcy high schools have had to shift to remote-only learning after a number of staff members were quarantined.
“It’s not a high level of cases, but it’s because of the cases they have had resulted in a number of quarantines that caused them to not be able to carry on their typical on-site operations,” he said.
Hutchinson said the lawsuit contemplated by a group of legislators challenging the executive branch’s authority to decree public health directives without legislative approval is shortsighted.
“I disagree with that completely,” he said. “You cannot have public health guidelines delayed for three or four weeks as they go through a legislative process. I have confidence in our public health team. I trust them to do it versus a legislative review. They’re acting with authority that has been given necessarily by the General Assembly.”
Monday’s 618.57 rolling seven day average of new cases was the highest in more that two weeks and 13.4% higher than the prior Monday’s average. The increase was reflected in Monday’s hospitalizations, which were up 29 from Sunday’s count. Hospitalizations had been in decline, dropping from 500 Aug. 23 to 384 Saturday.
“The fact that we’ve had a 29 increase really reflects what happens whenever you have an uptick in cases over time,” Hutchinson said. “It leads to an increase in hospitalizations.”