There were 31 new COVID-19 cases reported in Union County Tuesday by the Arkansas Department of Health, bringing the cumulative total of cases identified locally to 2,102. The cases in the county included 1,609 confirmed cases, up four from Monday, and 493 probable cases, up 27 from Monday.
Confirmed cases are determined by positive PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests, while probable cases are determined by positive antigen tests.
The number of active cases grew by nine to reach 221 on Tuesday; they represented 10.5% of all the cases in the county and included 105 confirmed cases and 116 probable cases. There were 1,812 Union County residents considered recovered from the virus Tuesday, up 22 from Monday.
No new local deaths attributable to COVID-19 were reported Tuesday. Sixty-nine Union County residents have died as a result of the virus. In the Southwest hospital region of the state, where Union County is located, 164 people were hospitalized due to the virus Tuesday, including 61 in intensive care units and 22 on ventilator support.
The ADH reported 133 new negative test results returned from Union County Tuesday, indicating a one-day local positivity rate of 18.9% based on the number of new cases and results reported. In all, 19,208 COVID-19 test results have returned from Union County, including 17,106 negatives, indicating an overall local positivity rate of 10.9%.
In Arkansas, the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases grew by 1,941 Tuesday to reach 205,048. The cases in the state included 172,782 confirmed cases, up 1,110 from Monday, and 32,266 probable cases, up 831 from Monday.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson held his weekly COVID-19 update Tuesday, where he made several announcements pertaining to the virus. He began the press conference by wishing Arkansans a happy winter holiday.
“I wish everybody a good holiday under challenging circumstances,” he said. “Sometimes it’s easy to forget that this is an important season of the year for families, for communities, and it’s been changed this year. So let’s just remember each other, whether it is by Zoom, by prayer or whether we have the opportunity to meet in person.”
The governor went on to address hospital capacity in the state, noting that the number of Arkansans hospitalized due to the virus was higher than it had ever been before Tuesday after 25 more Arkansans were hospitalized between Monday and Tuesday. He announced that the state had entered a partnership with the Baptist Health system to construct two “alternative care sites” for a potential increase in hospitalizations in January.
“We have to be ready for whatever comes in January,” Hutchinson said. “It is my hope that we will build this out and we will not have to utilize those beds for COVID patients, but it is prudent upon me as governor to be sure we have that adequate space if that need arises.”
The two new medical facilities will be built onto existing Baptist facilities in Little Rock and Van Buren. An additional 124 hospital beds will become available as a result of the new construction, including eight ICU beds. The construction will cost $7.4 million, Hutchinson said, adding that he hopes the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will cover 80% of the cost, with the state providing the other 20% from previously allocated emergency management funds.
“We think this opportunity that we’re talking about today gives us some more runway, some more capacity, before we have to make any further recommendations or decisions about expansions around the state,” said Troy Wells, CEO of the Baptist Health system and a member of the governor’s COVID-19 Winter Task Force.
Wells explained that the Little Rock site, which will be built off Baptist Health’s existing campus, will host 50 new beds in a negative air environment that will allow COVID patients to be treated there; the Van Buren site will be similar, hosting 74 beds, including the eight ICU beds, and also in a negative air environment.
Construction at the Little Rock site began last week, Wells said, and is expected to take a total of four to five weeks to complete. The Van Buren site will take six to eight weeks to complete, he said, but beds will be available for patients during the construction process as parts of the addition are completed.
“The benefits of working on these sites … it allows us the easiest means for scaling all the ancillary services, the other clinical services, that are needed in a hospital,” Wells said, explaining that already having on-site pharmacies, laboratories, food preparation areas and other services that exist in hospitals will allow the sites to come on-line sooner.
Hutchinson noted that hospitalizations across the state haven’t increased as much as they were expected to before the Thanksgiving holiday; however, with another holiday fast approaching, he said he believes it is best to prepare for the worst.
“Our existing capacity has been able to handle our current caseload, but we don’t know what the rest of December is going to be like, we don’t know what January is going to be like, because we dont know what Christmas is going to be like,” Hutchinson said. “We’re trying hard, but if we’re not successful, we’re going to see another spike after Christmas and we have to be prepared for it.”
The governor also announced a new public health directive that will go into effect on Jan. 2, 2021 and will affect commercial venues, like concert halls and other event settings. The new directive will require such facilities to have a gathering plan approved by the ADH for any event expected to have 10 or more guests, he said. It won’t apply to churches, school- or community-sponsored sporting events, retail businesses, bars or restaurants or private residences.
A similar directive exists already and will stay in effect through Jan. 2. The current directive triggers a requirement for an ADH-approved plan for events with 100 or more guests. The new directive will stay in effect until March 1, 2021, Hutchinson said.
Dr. Jose Romero, ADH Secretary, spoke about the success of the first vaccinations in the state on Tuesday. About 51% of the vaccine doses received by the state have been administered so far, he said. He noted that while the vaccines do have some side effects — six people in the United States reported allergic reactions to the vaccines as of Sunday, Dec. 20, but have since recovered — they are safe.
“I want to stress to those health care providers and those who are eligible for this … These vaccines have been studied well and they have been shown to be safe and efficacious and I want you to consider receiving these vaccines sooner rather than later,“ Romero said.
Hutchinson said he expects the state to receive 23,400 more doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 17,700 doses of the Moderna vaccine next week.
Romero also highlighted monoclonal antibody treatments available to Arkansans 65 or older who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and have a comorbid health condition. He said there is a “large, ready” supply of the treatment, which Arkansans who are eligible for it can use as a pre-emptive measure to stay out of the hospital.
“For those patients that are of the right age, 65 or older, and have medical conditions and are diagnosed with COVID, they should reach out to their providers early in their disease and contact them to see if they’re eligible for these therapies,” he said.
Romero also stressed the importance of keeping holiday gatherings small and limited to members of one’s household over the Christmas holiday.
“I really encourage you to limit your gathering to the nuclear family, not bring in individuals, and avoid large crowds. Use the mask even when indoors. Wear the mask. Continue to social distance. We’re seeing a lot of transmission in these small family gatherings,” he said. “And continue to wash your hands.”
Hutchinson noted that Romero sat on a United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) advisory committee that helped to determine what the nation’s priorities for COVID immunization should be.
Active cases in Arkansas fell by 179 Tuesday to reach 21,979; they represented 10.7% of all the cases in the state and included 16,173 confirmed cases and 5,806 probable cases. There were 179,706 Arkansans considered recovered from the virus Tuesday, up 2,077 from Monday.
The deaths of 43 Arkansans were reported Tuesday, bringing the state’s death toll to 3,338, indicating a state COVID mortality rate of 1.6%.
“That number remains way too high for us. I’m very concerned about that; but it’s a result of increased cases,” Hutchinson said.
There were 1,103 Arkansans hospitalized due to the virus Tuesday, including 353 in ICUs and 173 on ventilator support.
Hutchinson said 11,179 new COVID-19 test results returned to the ADH Tuesday, indicating a one-day positivity rate for the state of 17.4%. So far in December, 263,310 PCR test results and 59,433 antigen test results have returned to the ADH, he added. Since the state began testing for the virus, 2,170,051 results have returned to the ADH, including 1,958,388 negatives, indicating an overall local positivity rate of 9.4%.
At 3:45 p.m. Tuesday, Johns Hopkins University reported 18,168,777 COVID-19 cases in the United States. No data was available on the number of U.S. residents considered recovered or the number of active cases in the U.S. There had been 322,611 deaths attributable to the virus reported in the U.S. by Tuesday afternoon, indicating a national COVID mortality rate of 1.8%.
Johns Hopkins reported 77,801,721 COVID-19 cases worldwide Tuesday afternoon. There were 43,894,903 people considered recovered from the virus, leaving 32,193,709 cases — 41.4% — active around the world. There had been 1,713,109 deaths attributable to the virus reported by Tuesday afternoon, indicating a global COVID mortality rate of 2.2%.