The Arkansas Department of Health reported six new confirmed COVID-19 cases in Union County Wednesday, bringing the cumulative number of cases identified locally to 458.
Of those, 359 were considered recovered Wednesday, an increase of six from Tuesday. Active cases correspondingly remained steady at 82, representing no change from Tuesday and 17.9% of the county’s cumulative number of cases.
No new local deaths attributable to COVID-19 were reported Wednesday. Seventeen Union County residents have died as a result of the virus.
A third worker at Advanced Health and Rehab of Union County was counted among positive cases within congregate living facilities in a report released by the ADH Wednesday. The facility previously reported two workers who had tested positive, both of whom had reportedly recovered.
Wednesday’s version of the congregate living settings report from the ADH did not include the number of recoveries among workers and residents at the congregate living facilities listed within the report, though facilities with no cases currently active are noted on the report.
The congregate living settings report did still note that six workers at Timberlane Health and Rehab had tested positive for the virus; as of Tuesday, at least four were considered recovered. Community Living Arrangements also still had active cases as of Wednesday according to the report; nine residents and three workers there had reportedly recovered by Tuesday, and one worker case remained active then.
On July 29, the News-Times reported that Governor Asa Hutchinson had announced the state would soon begin reporting ‘presumed positive’ results from COVID-19 antigen tests, also sometimes called point-of-care or quick response tests. An ADH spokesperson said Wednesday that while those antigen test results are currently being tracked, the department doesn’t currently have a timeline for when they will be shared on the ADH’s COVID-19 dashboard.
The spokesperson noted that the governor has highlighted the antigen tests in daily press briefings, which are broadcast live on the governor’s YouTube channel, usually at 1:30 p.m., on weekdays. She noted that the antigen test results will be reported separately from PCR test results, positives from which are considered to be ‘confirmed cases.’ She said Arkansans who receive antigen tests from out-of-state clinics are included in Arkansas case numbers.
The News-Times will continue to report on the antigen test results as more information becomes available.
The ADH reported 27 new negative PCR test results returned from Union County Wednesday, indicating a local one-day positivity rate of 18.18% based on the number of new cases and results reported. In all, 4,656 COVID-19 test results have returned from Union County, with 4,198 negatives, indicating an overall local positivity rate of 9.83%.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Arkansas grew by 912 Wednesday to reach 46,293. Of those, 38,848 were considered recovered, leaving 6,937 cases — 14.98% of the cumulative number of cases — active statewide.
The deaths of 18 Arkansans resulting from COVID-19 were reported Wednesday, bringing the state’s death toll to 508, indicating a state COVID mortality rate of 1.09%. According to the ADH, 516 Arkansans were hospitalized due to the virus Wednesday, a net decrease of 10 from Tuesday, and 106 were on ventilator support, an increase of five from Tuesday.
Hutchinson announced Wednesday that Dr. Jose Romero, who has served in an interim capacity as ADH Secretary, has been tapped to serve in the role permanently. Before Wednesday, Romero was the chief medical officer for the ADH; he is also the chief of pediatric infectious disease for Arkansas Children’s Hospital and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Medicine and has been recognized for his work promoting childhood immunizations by the United States Centers for Disease Control. He has served as interim ADH Secretary since July 18.
Hutchinson also announced that the state plans to test every inmate in state prisons during the month of August. There are 19 total, 10 of which he said had already completed testing. Ten National Guard members will assist with the effort, he said.
There were 5,077 COVID-19 tests performed in Arkansas on Tuesday, according to the ADH. So far in August, 23,261 tests have been performed in the state.
The ADH reported 4,290 new negative test results returned statewide Wednesday, indicating a one-day positivity rate for the state of 17.53% based on the number of new cases and results reported. Since the state began testing for COVID-19, 529,101 results have been reported to the ADH, with 492,808 negatives, indicating an overall positivity rate for the state of 8.74%.
According to Johns Hopkins University, there were 4,811,128 COVID-19 cases in the United States at 5:45 p.m. Wednesday. Of those, 1,528,979 were considered recovered, leaving 3,124,459 cases — 64.94% — active nationwide. There had been 157,690 deaths attributable to the virus in the U.S. by Wednesday afternoon, indicating a national COVID mortality rate of 3.27%.
Johns Hopkins reported 18,643,633 COVID-19 cases worldwide Wednesday afternoon. Of those, 11,206,409 were considered recovered, leaving 6,734,097 cases — 36.12% — active around the world. Deaths attributable to the virus topped 700,000 Wednesday and were at 703,127 at 5:45 p.m., indicating a global COVID mortality rate of 3.77%.