Active COVID-19 cases stayed steady in Union County between Saturday and Sunday at 53 local residents, according to the Arkansas Department of Health.
The ADH reported two new COVID-19 cases identified in El Dorado as of 5 p.m. Sunday afternoon, along with two more residents recovered from the virus. In all, 173 cases have been reported in Union County; of those, 112 have recovered and 53 — 30.6% — remain active. Local deaths remained at eight Sunday afternoon.
Locally, 21 new negative test results were returned, making 968 negative tests results found in Union County altogether. In all, the ADH has reported 1,141 test results in Union County.
Arkansas had added 240 new COVID-19 cases to its cumulative total, now 7,253, by Sunday afternoon, but deaths stayed steady at 133. Of the state’s total cases, there are 5,275 considered recovered and 1,845 — 25.4% — remain active.
This is the second week that the state has seen an upward trend in COVID-19 cases after the daily number of new cases started moving downward at the end of April; the increase coincides with reopening businesses and activity centers in Arkansas, which started on May 4. Public health officials attribute the increase in part to an improved testing capacity statewide, though Dr. Jennifer Dillaha, Medical Director for Immunizations at the ADH, said that more cases were expected as the state opened back up in an interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
“The whole system of testing supplies, being able to gather the specimens and run the tests, there’s more options, you can have quicker turnarounds, all of that is working much better now,” she said. “We will have a ways to go. We’re not where we want to be, but we’re much better than we were, even compared to just a few weeks ago.”
Across the state Saturday, protesters gathered to recognize the killing of George Floyd, 46, in Minneapolis. Large gatherings are subject to some restrictions by the ADH, including limits on the number of people that may gather outdoors at a time.
Dillaha said that as the state continues to reopen, maintaining the hygiene and distancing practices one has developed since the pandemic began, including hand washing and wearing face masks, will be important.
“As we open up, it’s even more important to keep our physical distance from one another, wear cloth face masks and practice good hand sanitation. We can’t get lulled into a false sense of security because things are opening back up,” she said.
Between Saturday and Sunday, almost 3,000 negative tests results were reported by the ADH. The positivity rate for the state increased slightly to 6%, according to the agency.
Testing will continue this week at public health units in each county; the Union County Health Unit is located at 301 American Road, across the drive from the Union County Sheriff’s Office, and testing is held Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Testing is also available locally at the Medical Center of South Arkansas and South Arkansas Medical Association (SAMA).
A free testing event organized by the ADH will take place in El Dorado Saturday, June 6 at the Union County Fairgrounds. The drive-through event will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Nationwide, COVID-19 cases grew to 1,784,824 by Sunday afternoon; of those, 416,461 have reportedly recovered and 104,217 have died, indicating a national mortality rate of 5.8%.
The World Health Organization reported 5,939,234 COVID-19 cases worldwide Sunday afternoon; of those, 367,255 have reportedly died, indicating a global mortality rate of 6.1%.