Active cases down two

Analysis shows county’s mortality rate among state’s highest

Governor Asa Hutchinson removes his face mask as he prepares to address the media during an update on Arkansas’ response to COVID-19 on Friday, July 3. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette / Stephen Swofford)
Governor Asa Hutchinson removes his face mask as he prepares to address the media during an update on Arkansas’ response to COVID-19 on Friday, July 3. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette / Stephen Swofford)

The Arkansas Department of Health did not report any new COVID-19 cases in Union County Saturday, keeping the county’s cumulative cases total at 252, where it’s been since Friday.

Of the 252 people who have had COVID-19 locally, 214 were considered recovered on Saturday, up two from Friday. The number of active cases correspondingly dropped by two to 25, representing 9.92% of the county’s cumulative cases.

No new local deaths attributable to COVID-19 were reported Saturday; in all, 13 Union County residents have died as a result of the virus.

The ADH reported 14 new negative test results returned from Union County on Saturday. In all, 3,337 COVID-19 test results from the county have returned to the ADH, with 3,085 negatives, indicating an overall local positivity rate of 7.55%.

Arkansas saw its cumulative case total rise by 587 Saturday to reach 23,209. Of those, 16,726 were considered recovered, leaving 6,125 cases — 26.29% — active statewide.

Five Arkansans died as a result of the virus between Friday and Saturday, bringing the state’s death toll to 286, indicating a state mortality rate of 1.23%.

Only four Arkansas counties have had more deaths resulting from the virus than Union County, which matches Crittendon County, where there are currently 146 active cases out of 768 cumulative cases and 13 deaths have occurred. The 12th and 13th deaths in Union County were reported on June 18.

The mortality rate from COVID-19 was 5.15% in Union County Saturday, down from 5.96% on June 18 due to the rise in local cases. There were 218 cumulative cases on June 18, a difference of 34 compared to Saturday. Crittendon County’s mortality rate Saturday was 1.69%.

Pulaski County, where Little Rock is located and there have been 60 deaths out of 2,345 cumulative cases, had a mortality rate of 2.55% Saturday. Washington County, where Fayetteville is located and where there have been 32 deaths out of 3,932 cumulative cases, had a mortality rate of .81%. Jefferson County, where Pine Bluff is located, the first COVID-19 case in the state was discovered and where there have been 28 deaths out of 737 cumulative cases, had a mortality rate of 3.79%. Benton County, where Bentonville is located and where there have been 20 deaths out of 2,961 cumulative cases, had a mortality rate of .67% Saturday.

Seven of Union County’s deaths attributable to COVID-19 were residents at Courtyard Healthcare and Rehabilitation. In all, 101 of the deaths resulting from the virus in Arkansas have been related to nursing homes, with the seven from Union County representing 6.93% of all nursing home deaths related to COVID-19 in the state.

The other six deaths were in residents that lived in the general community. They represent 3.5% of the community deaths attributable to the virus in the state.

Counties with a higher mortality rate than Union County include Lawrence County, where Walnut Ridge is located and where there have been nine deaths out of 102 cases, indicating a mortality rate of 8.82%; Sharp County, where Ash Flat is located and where there have been five deaths out of 58 cases, indicating a mortality rate of 8.62%; and Van Buren County, where Clinton is located and where there have been two deaths out of 33 cases, indicating a mortality rate of 6.06%.

The ADH reported 338,893 total test results returned Saturday, with 315,684 negatives, indicating an overall positivity rate for the state of 6.84%.

Johns Hopkins University reported 2,817,620 COVID-19 cases in the United States at 3 p.m. on Saturday. Of those, 883,561 were considered recovered, leaving 1,804,484 cases — 64.04% — active nationwide. There had been 129,575 deaths attributable to the virus by Saturday afternoon, indicating a national mortality rate of 4.59%.

Johns Hopkins reported 11,141,020 COVID-19 cases worldwide Saturday afternoon. Of those, 6,004,198 were considered recovered, leaving 4,609,175 cases — 41.37% — active around the world. There had been 527,647 deaths attributable to the virus by Saturday afternoon, indicating a global mortality rate of 4.73%.

Upcoming Events