CDC shows surge in Covid cases in region over past week

More than 300 people have been diagnosed with Covid over the past week in this region of the state.

The Centers for Disease Control, in its report released Sunday, shows that 330 more cases of Covid have been reported in this seven-county region that in addition to St. Francis includes Lee, Cross, Phillips, Crittenden, Monroe and Woodruff counties.

According to the CDC, SFC had 56 new cases diagnosed over the past week.

The largest increase in new cases over the past week was in Phillips County where 108 cases were added last week, followed by Cross County where 62 new cases were diagnosed. The CDC shows 13 new cases last week in Lee County, 21 in Monroe, 56 in Crittenden and 14 in Woodruff.

The CDC map of the state previously showed counties where the community level of transmission was listed as either low, moderate, substantial or high. Today, that map shows the Covid transmission level as being high across the entire state.

Arkansas and Florida are the only two states today where the CDC reports the community transmission level as being high in each county. Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana and Missouri each have a few counties where the transmission level is currently reported as substantial or moderate.

The CDC also reports the numbers of people receiving at least one dose of a vaccine is slowly improving.

According to the CDC, in SFC 38.7% of vaccine-eligible residents have received at least one dose of a vaccine.

Last week, the county held a vaccination clinic at the Forrest City Civic Center where more than 100 shots were given. SFC officials are planning other vaccination clinics in smaller communities, beginning with a clinic in Colt on Tuesday. The

(Continued from Page 1) Colt clinic will be held from 3 to 5 p.m., at the Colt Community Center.

The CDC shows that the two smallest counties in this region, Monroe and Woodruff, have the highest percentage of residents vaccinated at 46.3% in Monroe County and 45.9% in Woodruff County.

According to the CDC, Lee County has the lowest vaccination rate in the area at 28.7%. In Cross County, 39.8% have been vaccinated, 37.1% have received one dose of a vaccine in Phillips County, and in Crittenden County, the vaccination rate is 33.1%.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 17,686 cases of Covid have been diagnosed in this region, including 733 this month.