Health Report

Union County adds 21 cases, active cases up to 93

Gov. Asa Hutchinson speaks Friday Aug. 7 in Little Rock during his daily COVID-19 briefing. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Staton Breidenthal)
Gov. Asa Hutchinson speaks Friday Aug. 7 in Little Rock during his daily COVID-19 briefing. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Staton Breidenthal)

The Arkansas Department of Health reported 21 new confirmed COVID-19 cases in Union County Sunday, bringing the cumulative number of cases in the county to 499. The new cases identified locally Sunday represent the second-largest one-day increase in cases seen yet in Union County; the largest one-day increase in cases was on July 31, when 32 new cases were added.

Of the cumulative number of cases, 389 were considered recovered on Sunday, up eight from Saturday. Local cases that are active cases increased by 13 to 93, representing 18.63% of the cumulative cases in the county. Active cases were at their highest level in Union County yet Sunday.

No new local deaths resulting from COVID-19 were reported Sunday. Seventeen Union County residents have died as a result of the virus.

The ADH reported 106 new negative test results Sunday, indicating a one-day local positivity rate of 16.53% based on the number of new cases and results reported. In all, 4,938 COVID-19 test results have returned from Union County, with 4,439 negatives, indicating an overall local positivity rate of 10.1%.

The number of cases in Arkansas increased by 572 to reach 49,383 Sunday. Of those, 41,452 were considered recovered. Active cases in the state reached a new peak Sunday, with 7,387 cases considered active, representing 14.95% of the cumulative case total.

The deaths of nine Arkansans that resulted from COVID-19 were reported Sunday, bringing the state’s death toll to 544, indicating a state COVID mortality rate of 1.1%. The number of Arkansans hospitalized due to the virus increased by 17 to 514 Sunday. Two fewer Arkansans were on ventilator support Sunday, with 115 in all requiring ventilation on Sunday.

Governor Asa Hutchinson said in a post on twitter that Sunday’s increase in cases, relatively low compared to the 700-plus cases added to the state’s cumulative total in the six days preceding Sunday, was encouraging; however, he said Arkansans should remain vigilant.

“While this number is encouraging, we must remember that COVID-19 is highly contagious when not wearing a mask,” his tweet read. “We have to continue to do our part to slow the spread.”

According to the ADH, 6,770 COVID-19 tests were performed Saturday. So far in August, 47,350 tests have been performed in Arkansas.

The ADH reported 5,185 new negative test results returned from around the state Sunday, indicating a one-day positivity rate for the state of 9.93% based on the number of new cases and results reported. Since the state began testing for COVID-19, 563,831 tests have been reported to the ADH, with 514,448 negatives, indicating an overall positivity rate for the state of 8.75%.

The United States topped five million COVID-19 cases Sunday according to Johns Hopkins University, reaching 5,032,299 by 3:30 p.m. Of those, 1,643,118 were considered recovered Sunday, leaving 3,226,430 cases — 64.11% — active nationwide. There had been 162,751 deaths attributable to the virus in the U.S. by Sunday afternoon, indicating a national COVID mortality rate of 3.23%.

According to Johns Hopkins, worldwide COVID-19 cases had reached 19,720,406 by Sunday afternoon. Of those, 11,970,444 were considered recovered, leaving 7,021,537 cases — 35.6% — active around the world. There had been 728,245 deaths attributable to the virus by Sunday afternoon, indicating a global COVID mortality rate of 3.69%.

Slightly over a quarter (25.51%) of COVID-19 cases worldwide had been identified in the U.S. as of Sunday. Active cases in the U.S. represented 45.95% of all the active cases in the world Sunday afternoon.

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