COVID-19 update
As a service to our readers, The Sentinel-Record publishes updates released by the city of Hot Springs and the state of Arkansas.
The following stats were posted Monday on the Arkansas Department of Health website; some of the stats are being updated for the first time since Christmas Eve:
• 181,178 cumulative confirmed cases, up 889 from Sunday.
• 2,017,146 PCR test reports, up 28,073 from Thursday.
• 9% cumulative PCR infection rate, up 0.1% from Thursday.
• 35,350 cumulative probable cases, up 846 from Sunday.
• 18.7% cumulative antigen infection rate, up 0.3% since Thursday.
• 20,831 active confirmed and probable cases, down 2,547 from Thursday.
• 192,134 recoveries of confirmed and probable cases, up
7,799 from Thursday.
• 1,155 hospitalizations, up 62 from Sunday.
• 201 cases on a ventilator, up
15 from Sunday.
• 3,005 confirmed deaths, up
29 from Sunday.
• 532 probable deaths, up 26 from Sunday.
• 1,474 nursing home deaths, up 30 from Thursday.
• 4,760 cumulative confirmed cases in Garland County, up 14 from Sunday.
• 65,263 PCR and antigen test reports, up 1,342 from Thursday.
• 46,254 private lab reports, up 1,023 from Thursday.
• 18,860 public lab reports, up
301 from Thursday.
• 9% cumulative PCR infection rate, up 0.1% from Thursday.
• 427 active confirmed cases in Garland County, down 49 from Thursday.
• 4,207 recoveries of confirmed cases in Garland County, up 171 from Thursday.
• 709 cumulative probable cases in Garland County, up 47 from Thursday.
• 149 active probable cases in Garland County, down 11 from Thursday.
• 124 confirmed deaths, up three from Sunday.
• 20 probable deaths, no change from Sunday. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson released the following statement on Monday’s COVID-19 numbers:
“It will take a few days to know whether the increase in hospitalizations is the result of buildup after the long Christmas weekend. Regardless, the high number of cases continues to strain our health care system. Regretfully, we also have an additional 55 deaths in Arkansas from COVID-19. The importance of following guidance from the Department of Health cannot be overstated,” Hutchinson said.
Coronavirus hospitalizations in Arkansas rose Sunday to near their recent record high, as state health officials reported more than 900 news cases of COVID-19 and 41 more deaths linked to the disease, The Associated Press reported over the weekend.
The Arkansas Department of Health said there were 1,093 state residents hospitalized with COVID-19 Sunday, 34 more than Saturday. The state record was set Wednesday, when there were 1,110 patients hospitalized with the disease, the AP reported.
There were 649 newly confirmed coronavirus cases and 259 more probable cases Saturday, according to the department. Health officials have warned holiday gatherings and travel are likely to further spread the virus, it said.
The actual number of coronavirus cases is believed to be far higher because many people haven’t been tested and some who get the disease don’t show symptoms.
Over the last seven days, more than 17% of coronavirus tests in Arkansas have come back positive, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, the AP said.