County sees more recoveries than new cases

Only five new COVID-19 cases were reported last week in Union County, compared to 16 new recoveries recorded in the same time frame.

According to the Arkansas Department of Health, including the one new case that was added to the county’s total Saturday, a total of 4,016 COVID-19 cases have been identified in Union County, up five from last Sunday’s total of 4,011.

The number of local residents who met the criteria for recovery, however, grew by 16 last week, including one recovery that was reported Saturday. In total, 3,890 local residents are considered recovered from the virus.

The trajectory of local cases follows a trend that was set the week before last, when there were 12 new cases reported compared to 14 new recoveries. The week before that, there were 17 new cases and 17 recoveries reported, and the week before that, new cases outpaced recoveries 26 to 15.

There were also no new local deaths attributable to

the virus reported last week. A total of 114 Union County residents have died as a result of the virus, indicating a local COVID mortality rate – the percentage of people who have contracted the virus and died as a result – of 2.8%.

The number of active cases in the county Saturday was halved compared to the high of 22 it hit last Sunday. By Thursday, there were only 11 active cases in the county, and the number of active cases in Union County stayed there on Friday and Saturday.

Also, between Tuesday and Saturday, 567 COVID vaccine doses were administered in the county. According to the ADH, as of Saturday, 5.17% of the county’s population was partially immunized against the virus, and 17.4% was fully immunized.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson set a goal this week for 50% of the state of Arkansas’ population to have received at least one vaccine dose by the beginning of August, and also encouraged counties to meet the same goal locally.

A map produced by the ADH on Tuesday showing the amount of vaccine doses that need to be administered in each county for it to reach 50% of residents at least partially immunized showed that 29.8% of Union County residents, or 9,182 people, will need to get at least one dose in the next 90 days to meet the governor’s goal.

Several vaccine clinics are scheduled in Union County and throughout the region this week.

On Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, vaccine clinics conducted by the ADH Health Equity Strike Team will be held at the Union County Local Health Unit at 301 American Rd. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday the clinic will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and on Tuesday it will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Additionally, a vaccine clinic is scheduled at the Columbia County Local Health Unit at 207 S. Jefferson in Magnolia for Tuesday from 2 to 5:30 p.m. and one is scheduled at the Ouachita County Local Health Unit at 740 California Ave. in Camden for Friday from 8 a.m. to noon.

There is no out-of pocket cost to receive a COVID-19 vaccine; those with insurance may be asked to show their cards, but won’t necessarily be, and those without insurance will be able to get vaccinated. To schedule an appointment at one of the clinics, call 1-800-985-6030.

On Saturday, the Medical Center of South Arkansas will be hosting a free vaccine clinic at St. John Missionary Baptist Church at 1018 Wilson St. in El Dorado from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.. No identification or insurance cards will be required, and community leaders including Mayor Veronica Smith-Creer, Pastor Eugene Farley, Dr. Ezinne Nwude, Pastor Barry Dobson, Wayne Gibson, Dr. Donnell Hegler, Martha Olvera, Pastor Isaura Pulido and Gabrielle Phifer will be present.

Call 870-864-3245 for more information about the MCSA clinic.

COVID-19 vaccines are also available by appointment at MCSA, Melvin’s Discount Pharmacy and Walmart in Union County. To set an appointment at MCSA, call 870-863-2620; to do so at Melvin’s, call 870-863-4155; and for an appointment at Walmart, visit walmart.com/COVID.

COVID-related hospitalizations in the Southwest hospital region of the state, where Union County sits, fell from a high of 33 reported on Tuesday to a low of 24 on Saturday. Of the 24 people in the region hospitalized due to the virus Saturday, nine were in intensive care units and six were on ventilator support.

ADH Secretary Dr. Jose Romero has noted for the past several weeks that the department is seeing increased transmission of COVID virus variants throughout the state, some of which are more deadly than the original virus. At least one variant case has been detected in Union County.

There were 419 COVID-19 tests results returned from Union County last week, indicating a seven-day local positivity rate of 1.2%. In total, 32,819 COVID-19 tests have been administered in Union County, and 28,803 have had negative results, indicating an overall positivity rate for the county of 12.2%.

Arkansas saw more new COVID-19 cases than recoveries last week, and the number of active cases in the state hit its highest point in the week on Saturday.

The addition of 245 new COVID cases reported Saturday brought the cumulative total of cases in the state to 337,415. In total, 1,310 new cases were identified last week, up from the 1,262 cases identified the week before.

Recoveries also lagged last week behind the number reported the week before. A total of 1,082 Arkansans met the recovery criteria last week, including 154 who were counted Saturday, making a total of 329,333 Arkansans considered recovered from the virus.

There were 17 Arkansans who died as a result of the virus last week, including one whose death was reported Saturday. In all, 5,760 Arkansans have died due to COVID-19, indicating a state COVID mortality rate of 1.7%. Fewer Arkansans died last week than did the week before.

Active cases in the state hit their highest point in the week on Saturday, when 2,266 Arkansans had the virus; the number had risen from a low of point of 1,939 active cases reported Monday.

COVID-related hospitalizations in the state hit their peak last week on Tuesday, when 192 were recorded. They subsequently fell to a low of 163 on Saturday. There were 74 Arkansans in ICUs Saturday and 38 on ventilator support.

There were 68,036 vaccine doses administered in Arkansas last week, down from more than 86,000 doses administered the week before. As of Saturday, 803,789 Arkansans were fully immunized against the virus, up 46,470 since last Sunday.

In total, 1,804,195 COVID vaccine doses have been administered in Arkansas and 2,556,390 doses had been received by the state.

There were 28,653 COVID tests performed last week, indicating a seven-day positivity rate for the state of 4.6%, up 0.4% from the week before. Since the state began testing for the virus, 3,569,921 results have returned to the ADH, including 3,219,255 negatives, indicating an overall positivity rate for the state of 9.5%.

The United States added a little more than 250,000 new COVID-19 cases to its total last week, and almost 4,400 U.S. residents died as a result of the virus. As of Saturday, 32,677,565 cases had been identified in the country and 581,415 U.S. residents had died as a result of the virus.

Worldwide, about 4.6 million new COVID-19 cases were identified last week, and more than 76,000 people died as a result of the virus. On Saturday, there had been 157,121,626 cases identified globally and 3,274,656 people had died due to COVID.