The Arkansas Department of Health reported one new local COVID-19 case Wednesday, bringing Union County’s cumulative case total to 249.
Of those, 208 were considered recovered Wednesday, up seven from Tuesday, leaving 28 cases active locally. Active cases represented 11.24% of the county’s cumulative case total Wednesday.
There were no new local deaths attributable to COVID-19 reported Wednesday; in all, 13 Union County residents have died as a result of the virus.
No changes were reported in any of the county’s congregate living settings where COVID-19 has been identified, except that the ADH clarified Wednesday that no cases have been discovered in Oak Ridge Nursing and Rehab.
On Tuesday, Oak Ridge was included in the ADH’s daily congregate living settings report; however, an ADH spokesperson said Wednesday that no cases have been identified in the facility’s staff or residents.
The ADH reported 22 new negative test results returning for Union County Wednesday. In all, 3,279 results have returned from the county, with 3,030 negatives, indicating an overall positivity rate for the county of 8.21%. The ADH reported that 82.5 Union County residents are tested for every 1,000 on Wednesday.
Arkansas saw its number of cumulative cases increase by 420 Wednesday to reach 21,197. Of those, 15,163 were considered recovered, with 5,757 cases — 27.15% — were still active.
Seven Arkansans died as a result of the virus between Tuesday and Wednesday, bringing the state’s death toll to 277, indicating a state mortality rate of 1.30%. There were 275 Arkansans hospitalized due to COVID-19 on Wednesday, with 72 on ventilator support.
Dr. Nate Smith, ADH Secretary, spoke Wednesday about the serious health complications that can accompany COVID-19. He said the virus can cause a person to develop blood clots that could potentially be deadly; COVID-19 can also lead to neurological issues, including stroke, he said.
A physician that contacted Smith is facing congenital heart failure despite recovering from the respiratory aspect of the virus, Smith said, adding that the doctor could die as a result of his condition.
“Hopefully Arkansans are getting the message that consistency is what we need in disciplined behavior and social distancing, and wearing masks is part of that,” Gov. Asa Hutchinson said, urging state residents to wear masks and continue to socially distance in order to allow the state to reopen further and to protect their neighbors’ health.
Hutchinson also announced that a National Guard training that was planned to start this weekend was canceled after the state learned they would not be allowed to use federal funds to test every Guardsman before they returned home.
The ADH reported 314,858 total tests results returned for the state Wednesday, with 293,661 negatives, indicating an overall positivity rate for the state of 6.73%.
Johns Hopkins University reported 2,677,168 COVID-19 cases in the United States Wednesday at 6 p.m. Of those, 720,631 were considered recovered, leaving 1,828,607 cases — 68.30% — active nationwide. There had been 127,930 deaths attributable to COVID-19 in the U.S., indicating a national mortality rate of 4.77%.
Johns Hopkins reported 10,577,263 COVID-19 cases worldwide Wednesday afternoon. Of those, 5,406,703 were considered recovered, leaving 4,657,119 cases — 44.02% — active around the world. There had been 513,144 deaths related to the virus by Wednesday afternoon, indicating a global mortality rate of 4.85%.