County confirms first case of virus
Infected person is staff member at Salvation Army, county judge reports
The first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Union County was announced Sunday by Union County Judge Mike Loftin. The Salvation Army later released a statement saying that the confirmed case was one of their staff members.
“Nobody needs to panic,” Salvation Army Capt. Jason Perdieu said. “Our staff member is in quarantine … We’ve sent the rest of our staff home to self-quarantine.”
Perdieu said the local branch of the Salvation Army will shut down all operations for the next two weeks or until they are cleared by health officials. This means a cancelation to their upcoming spring feeding program for children on spring break, as well as other meal and shelter services.
Those residing in the Salvation Army shelter at the time of the staff member’s diagnosis have been urged to stay there; however, Salvation Army staff cannot force them to stay against their will.
“As a precautionary method, we’ve advised them to stay; however, if they choose to leave on their own free will, they can’t come back,” Perdieu said. “We have the resources we need for the residents, enough food and hygiene supplies.”
The Salvation Army’s press release notes that the organization has stepped up its cleaning routines, particularly in high-traffic areas. If a staff member or shelter resident gets sick, isolation/quarantine areas have been established.
Perdieu said state health officials have told him that staff and residents should not be tested until they show symptoms, most likely due to the shortage of testing supplies the state is facing. While staff members are self-quarantining at home, they will be able to seek out a test if they choose.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson addressed state residents again today in a press conference at the Arkansas Department of Health, along with ADH Director Dr. Nate Smith, Arkansas Secretary of Commerce Mike Preston, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Chancellor Dr. Cam Patterson, Arkansas Department of Emergency Management Director AJ Gary and state Surgeon General Dr. Gregory Bledsoe.
Sunday’s total number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus reached 165, up from 118 Saturday, signifying the state’s largest jump in positive cases since the pandemic started, Hutchinson said.
Of those, 10 are children, 62 are adults over the age of 65 and 93 are 19-64 year olds, Smith said. So far, 19 coronavirus patients in Arkansas have been hospitalized, with 12 requiring intensive care and six needing medical ventilators.
Hutchinson said the number of cases will continue to rise as the state’s testing capacity grows. UAMS will begin offering testing to health care workers and patients at the hospital today. Patterson said those who believe they need to be tested should utilize UAMS’s online and telephone resources.
Hutchinson also spoke about the state’s dwindling supply of necessary medical supplies like personal protective equipment, which includes items like masks, gloves and gowns for health care providers. The federal government is distributing supplies like
PPE to states from the National Strategic Supply. The governor said Arkansas only received 25% of the supplies they requested from the NSS. The President Donald Trump administration has ordered states to manage their own supplies past whatever supplies they receive from the NSS.
“They bought up the domestic supply,” Hutchinson said, referring to the federal government.
Now that PPE supplies are scarce throughout the country, states are competing with one another to purchase vital medical supplies that can help to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. Hutchinson noted that most of the supplies in shortage are manufactured outside of the United States, and that with demand already very high, the global supply is currently low.
“We’re competing with the global demand for personal protective equipment,” he said.
While officials in some states, like New York, have said they will pay a premium for medical and PPE supplies, Arkansas, as one of the poorest states in the country, has less financial wiggle room. The state has dedicated $30 million towards medical and PPE supplies.
The state also isn’t equipped to manufacture its own PPE gear, he said, though he noted that he would be in favor of Trump invoking the Defense Production Act, which would nationalize some industries’ production, put price controls in place and manage the civilian economy to control scarcity (rationing).
Gary said that in addition to lacking the manufacturing capabilities to produce our own medical supplies, most of the resources to manufacture those goods are produced outside the U.S., another barrier to local production.
“They have to send us more when we run out … We haven’t been promised that’s coming,” Hutchinson said.
At the same time, workers around the state are filing for unemployment benefits in large numbers; Preston said that 8,000 to 10,000 people had tried to apply through the state’s system. Over the weekend, the unemployment office’s website was down, preventing residents from filing for benefits. Preston said that with money from the state, the Commerce department is working to upgrade the site to handle the large load of filings and to stay open 24/7. The site will also have a link to apply for federal benefits, he said.
Disaster relief loans and community development block grants are available for small businesses and community organizations, Preston said.
Hutchinson said he is not currently considering taking action to prevent residential evictions against Arkansas residents. He said he believes businesses will step up and take measures to account for people’s loss in income. However, according to the
U.S. Census Bureau, most residential rental properties are owned by individuals, not businesses.
“I don’t see any considerations for that unless it becomes a serious problem,” Hutchinson said.
The governor commended businesses who have changed their operations to follow U.S. Centers for Disease Control guidance to protect against the spread of the virus. He mentioned LANXESS, from whom he said he received a letter outlining new safety procedures, which include health screenings for employees, social distancing and “deep cleaning” of plant surfaces.
“That’s an example of a company doing things right and other companies should look at that as an example,” he said.
Hutchinson encouraged Arkansas residents to abide by CDC guidelines to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus. Those include: washing one’s hands often; avoiding touching one’s face; avoiding close contact with others; staying home if one is sick; covering coughs and sneezes with a tissue or one’s elbow; wearing a face mask if one is sick; and cleaning and disinfecting surfaces often.
COVID-19 is believed to be spread through respiratory droplets that one can encounter if they are in close contact with others.