The Arkansas Department of Health reported 50 new COVID-19 cases in Union County Friday, bringing the cumulative total of cases identified locally to 2,246. The cases in the county Friday included 1,725 confirmed cases, up 52 from Thursday, and 521 probable cases, down two from Thursday.
An ADH spokesperson said there are several reasons the number of probable cases may have fallen from Thursday’s report. The cases could have been moved to a different county, or they may have been confirmed with a PCR test.
Confirmed cases are determined by positive PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests, while probable cases are determined by positive antigen tests, per distinctions made by the United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Two Union County residents’ deaths that resulted from COVID-19 were reported Friday. Seventy-two local residents have now died as a result of the virus, indicating a local COVID mortality rate — the percentage of people who die after contracting the virus — of 3.2%.
Active cases in the county grew to 279, up 31 from Thursday and the highest they’ve been yet in Union County; they represented 12.4% of all the cases identified locally and included 184 confirmed cases and 95 probable cases. There were 1,895 Union County residents considered recovered from the virus Friday, up 17 from Thursday.
In the Southwest hospital region of the state, where Union County is located, 159 people were hospitalized due to the virus Friday, including 65 in intensive care units and 27 on ventilator support.
The ADH reported 81 new negative tests returned from Union County Friday, indicating a one-day local positivity rate of 38.2% based on the number of new cases and results reported. In all, 19,890 COVID-19 test results have returned from Union County, including 17,644 negatives, indicating an overall local positivity rate of 11.3%.
In Arkansas, the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases grew to 213,267 Friday, up 2,122 from Thursday. There were 178,980 confirmed cases in the state Friday, up 1,840 from Thursday, and 34,287 probable cases, up 282 from Thursday.
There were 186,425 Arkansans considered recovered Friday, up 2,090 from Thursday. Active cases stayed steady at 23,378 Friday, representing 11% of all the cases in the state. The active cases in Arkansas Friday included 17,280 confirmed cases and 6,098 probable cases.
The ADH reported the deaths of 32 Arkansans Friday, bringing the state’s death toll to 3,438, indicating a state COVID mortality rate of 1.6%. There were 1,062 Arkansans hospitalized due to the virus Friday, including 364 in ICUs and 183 on ventilator support.
The ADH reported 15,282 new COVID-19 test results returned Friday, indicating a one-day positivity rate for the state of 13.9% based on the number of new cases and results reported. Since the state began testing for COVID-19, 2,221,257 results have returned to the ADH, including 2,001,093 negatives, indicating an overall positivity rate for the state of 9.6%.
At 3:45 p.m. Friday, Johns Hopkins University reported 18,733,015 COVID-19 cases in the United States. Data wasn’t available on the number of U.S. residents considered recovered from the virus or the number of active COVID cases in the U.S. There had been 330,034 deaths attributable to the virus in the U.S. by Friday afternoon, indicating a national COVID mortality rate of 1.8%.
Johns Hopkins reported 79,712,010 COVID-19 cases worldwide Friday afternoon. Of those, 44,924,190 people were considered recovered, leaving 33,040,030 cases — 41.4% — active around the world. There had been 1,747,790 deaths attributable to the virus by Friday afternoon, indicating a global COVID mortality rate of 2.2%.