Union County’s number of COVID-19 cases had increased by six Friday afternoon, according to the Arkansas Department of Health, bringing the county to 185 cumulative cases.
Of those cases, 147 are considered recovered, leaving 27 — 14.5% — active. No new deaths were reported Friday; before Friday, Union County saw three residents die as a result of COVID-19 in as many days.
No new cases have been reported at any of the congregate living facilities in Union County where COVID-19 has been identified. Those include Courtyard Healthcare and Rehabilitation, where five residents have died and a total of 55 cases — 35 in residents, two of whom have recovered, and 20 in staff, 11 of whom have recovered — have been identified; Advanced Health and Rehab of Union County, where one staff member has tested positive; and Community Living Arrangements, where nine residents and three staff members have tested positive.
The ADH reported 64 new negative test results returned for Union County by Friday; 1,292 results have been reported by the ADH for the county in all, indicating an overall positivity rate of 14.3%.
From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. today, the ADH will hold a free testing event at the Union County Fairgrounds. Insurance is not required and anyone, regardless of whether they’ve experienced symptoms or been exposed, can be tested there.
Those that attend are asked to wear masks and follow social distancing guidelines. Attendees are asked to stay in their vehicles with the windows rolled up. A health care professional will distribute nasal swabs, explain how to collect a specimen and allow those being tested to collect their specimen themselves.
Those who are tested will be asked to provide their names, phone numbers and addresses. If one tests positive, they will be notified immediately.
Testing is also ongoing on weekdays at the Union County Health Unit, the Medical Center of South Arkansas and the South Arkansas Medical Association (SAMA).
Gov. Asa Hutchinson presented testing data Friday during a COVID-19 update from the state. A regional breakdown of testing showed the amount of tests being performed around the state, ranging from 325.6 per 10,000 residents having been performed in the Southwest region, where Union County is located, to 582.2 tests per 10,000 residents in the Northwest region, where the state is currently seeing a large outbreak of cases.
Statewide, 226 new COVID-19 cases were identified by Friday afternoon, bringing Arkansas’s cumulative number of cases to 8,651. Hutchinson said the number of new cases is good, since it is fewer than the 300-plus new cases seen Tuesday and Thursday. Friday’s number of new cases is the smallest the state has seen since Monday, June 1.
Another Arkansan had died as a result of COVID-19 by Friday afternoon, bringing the state’s death toll to 152, indicating a statewide mortality rate of 1.8%. Hospitalizations due to COVID-19 in Arkansas were at 147 Friday afternoon.
Of the cases in Arkansas, 6,077 are considered recovered, while 2,422 — 28% — remain active.
Hutchinson said the state is working to increase its contact tracing capabilities now. A team of 200 ADH employees is currently working on contact tracing, and ADH Secretary Dr. Nate Smith said the department is looking to hire 350 more. They will also train up to 100 volunteers next week to assist with the efforts.
In the United States, 1,890,592 COVID-19 cases had been identified by 5:45 p.m. Friday; of those, 485,002 are considered recovered, while 1,296,670 remained active. By Friday afternoon, 108,920 Americans had died as a result of COVID-19, indicating a national mortality rate of 5.76%.
The World Health Organization reported 6,535,354 COVID-19 cases worldwide Friday afternoon, with 387,155 people having died as a result of the virus, indicating a global mortality rate of 5.92%.