An outbreak at Courtyard Healthcare and Rehabilitation continues to grow, according to the Arkansas Department of Health, which reported the third COVID-19 related death in a resident of the nursing home Friday.
A new case in a Courtyard worker was also reported Friday, bringing the facility’s total number of cases to 55, with 20 in workers and 35 in residents. A resident recovery was also reported, putting the facility’s number of active cases at 51.
According to the ADH, Union County’s cumulative caseload increased by two between Thursday and Friday, putting the county at 166 COVID-19 cases in all. Local recoveries also reportedly increased by two to make 107, leaving 51 cases — 30.7% — active. The county’s death toll remains at eight, indicating a local mortality rate of 4.8%.
During the state’s daily COVID-19 update Friday, Gov. Asa Hutchinson showed graphical representations of COVID-19 cases in the five different public health regions of the state. The Southwest region, which Union County is part of, was one of two in the state showing an upward trend in cases.
“You can see, really, in Arkansas we have five different epidemics moving in different directions,” Hutchinson said.
Trends in Northwest Arkansas were also moving upward, while cases were relatively flat for Central and Southeast Arkansas. In Northeast Arkansas, the trend line was moving down, according to the graphs Hutchinson showed. Hutchinson and Dr. Nate Smith, ADH Secretary, said most of the cases in the Southwest region are attributable to spikes in Sevier County.
“It’s been low, and then it’s also coming up,” Smith said, describing the southwest regions’ curve. “We are seeing an increase. … You can see that although it’s also rising, the absolute numbers are much, much lower than the Northwest region. I think they’re still the second-highest number of new cases, but nothing near Northwest.”
Cases statewide rose by 239 to 6,777, with 237 of those being in the community, as opposed to in congregate living settings. Hutchinson maintained Friday that the cases are generally not related to the state’s reopening, citing contact tracing reports indicating that only 1% of those represented by new cases has been to a restaurant; 2% had been to beauty salons; under 1% had been to church; under 1.5% had been to a daycare or gym facility; and under .5% had been to hotel.
“We’re not seeing a connectivity to the business that we’re doing, the lifting of restrictions, and the number of new cases that we have,” he said.
He acknowledged last week that the state was experiencing a second peak in COVID-19 cases, but has said several times he does not believe it is related to the state’s reopening. On Monday, every state park in Arkansas will be allowed to reopen, along with their accompanying campgrounds and bathhouses. Campers will be asked to follow social distancing guidelines and wear face masks.
Seven more Arkansans died as a result of COVID-19 between Thursday and Friday, bringing the state’s death toll to 132, indicating a statewide mortality rate of 1.94%.
Hutchinson and Smith touted the state’s increased testing capacity; more than 60,000 tests have been performed this month, about doubling the state’s total number of tests performed in March and April. County health units throughout the state are offering free testing, and a free testing event is planned in El Dorado on June 6. In all, over 120,000 COVID-19 tests have been performed in Arkansas.
President Trump announced Friday that he intends to end United States support for the World Health Organization, a United Nations agency supporting public health initiatives and research; he said he blamed the WHO and China for an inadequate response to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
U.S. cases, 1,743,235 in all, accounted for 29.6% of all cases worldwide as of Friday evening, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Of Americans who have tested positive for COVID-19, 406,446 have reportedly recovered, while 102,709 have died, indicating a national mortality rate of 5.8%.
The WHO reported 5,704,736 cases worldwide Friday evening; of those 357,736 have reportedly died, indicating a global mortality rate of 6.3%.