COVID-19 update
EDITOR’S NOTE: As a service to our readers, The Sentinel-Record publishes updates released by the city of Hot Springs and the state of Arkansas.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson held his weekly press update Tuesday from the University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana. The following stats were posted Tuesday on the Arkansas Department of Health website:
• 89,351 cumulative confirmed cases, up 481 from Monday.
• 731.57 rolling seven-day average of new confirmed cases, down 7.29 from Monday.
• 7.7% cumulative PCR infection rate, no change from Monday.
• 1,162,665 PCR test reports, up
7,599 from Monday.
• 4,816 cumulative probable cases, up 99 from Monday.
• 17.7% cumulative antigen infection rate, down from 17.9% Monday.
• 605 hospitalizations, down three from Monday.
• 1,462 confirmed deaths, up
24 from Monday.
• 148 probable deaths, no change from Monday.
• 110 cases on a ventilator, up six from Monday.
• 2,097 cumulative confirmed cases in Garland County, up 23 from Monday.
• 13.43 rolling seven-day average of new confirmed cases, up
2.57 from Monday.
• 37,629 PCR and antigen test
reports for Garland County, up 269 from Monday.
• 28,959 private lab reports, up 126 from Monday.
• 8,670 public lab reports, up 143 from Monday.
• 5.7% cumulative PCR infection rate, up from 5.6% Monday.
• 113 active confirmed cases in Garland County, up 19 from Monday.
• 1,932 recoveries of confirmed cases in Garland County, up 14 from Monday.
• 52 confirmed deaths, up one from Monday.
• Five probable deaths, no change from Monday.
Hutchinson signed an executive order Tuesday granting a 60-day extension of the public health emergency declaration he initiated seven months ago.
The executive action underpins numerous directives Hutchinson said need to remain in place to control the spread of the virus, but he said reverting to stricter limits on business and social life the state imposed earlier in the pandemic isn’t an option.
“We’re way past that in the United States, Europe and here in Arkansas,” he said. “The ultimate solution is to follow the guidelines, to make sure that we’re doing what we can through individual responsibility. That is the solution. We’ve asked everybody to do that.”
He said rigorous enforcement of existing mandates is the best course, one he said the state has pursued through Alcoholic Beverage Control’s compliance checks of establishments the agency has permitted to sell alcohol. A recent review of more than 100 establishments showed a 96% rate of compliance, he said.
He called on the public to use its spending power to police businesses, explaining that supporting businesses that comply with Health Department directives can be an indirect form of enforcement.
“ABC and the Health Department can’t cover everybody,” he said. “You need to shop and spend money with businesses that are safe. That way we encourage compliance. We encourage those businesses that are really, sometimes at a sacrifice to their own business, following the guidelines and understanding the public health benefit from that.”
Hutchinson said no new limitations on business and social life are forthcoming, even as the number of infected people requiring hospital admission has increased by more than 20% since the start of the month. The 605 hospitalizations reported Tuesday were 15% higher than the summer peak of 526 Aug. 4
He and the Health Department said more people getting flu shots will free up hospital beds for coronavirus patients.
“We know influenza can cause a lot of hospitalizations,” Dr. Jennifer Dillaha, the Health Department’s director of immunizations, said. “This shot can do a lot to keep people out of the hospital. That is exactly what we need to do right now, keep people out of the hospital while we have this COVID-19 pandemic. It will be with us through the winter. We need to prepare and get our shots now.”
The 481 new confirmed cases reported Tuesday were the fewest since Oct. 5, lowering the seven-day rolling average of new confirmed cases after seven-straight days of increases. Tuesday’s 731.57 average was still 21% higher than the previous Tuesday’s, the drop in reported cases notwithstanding.
The 23 new cases reported Tuesday in Garland County were the most since Oct. 1 and ranked fifth statewide, raising the county’s infection curve for a second-straight day. Tuesday’s 13.43 moving average was still 6% lower than the previous Tuesday’s despite the uptick.