The Arkansas Department of Health reported 10 new COVID-19 cases in Union County Thursday, bringing the cumulative total of cases identified locally to 1,497. The cases in the county Thursday included 1,273 confirmed cases and 224 probable cases.
According to the United States Centers for Disease Control, the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests that determine confirmed cases are more sensitive than the antigen tests that determine probable cases.
No new local deaths attributable to COVID-19 were reported Thursday. Fifty-six Union County residents have died as a result of the virus. In the Southwest Public Health Region of the state, where Union County is located, 176 people were hospitalized due to the virus Thursday, including 70 in intensive care units and 31 on ventilator support.
Seventeen new recoveries were reported locally Thursday, making 1,319 Union County residents considered recovered from the virus. Active cases in the county dropped to 122, down seven from Wednesday and representing 8.1% of all the cases identified locally. The active cases in the county Thursday included 90 confirmed cases and 32 probable cases.
The ADH reported 571 new negative tests returned from Union County Thursday, indicating a one-day local positivity rate of 1.7% based on the number of new cases and results reported. In all, 15,661 COVID-19 test results have returned from Union County, including 14,164 negatives, indicating an overall local positivity rate of 9.6%.
In Arkansas, the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases grew to 152,625 Thursday, up 2,348 from Wednesday. There were 133,942 confirmed cases in the state Thursday and 18,683 probable cases.
There were 132,580 Arkansans considered recovered Thursday, up 1,762 from Wednesday. Active cases in the state rose by 17,588 to reach 574, representing 11.5% of all the cases in the state. The active cases in Arkansas Thursday included 13,529 confirmed cases and 4,059 probable cases.
The ADH reported the deaths of 11 Arkansans Thursday, bringing the state’s death toll to 2,436, indicating a state COVID mortality rate of 1.6%. There were 1,003 Arkansans hospitalized due to the virus Thursday, including 406 in ICUs and 169 on ventilator support.
Since the state began testing for COVID-19, 1,779,993 results have returned to the ADH, including 1,623,645 negatives, indicating an overall positivity rate for the state of 8.6%.
At 4:45 p.m. Thursday, Johns Hopkins University reported 12,862,585 COVID-19 cases in the United States. Of those, 4,835,956 people were considered recovered, leaving 8,289,847 cases — 64.4% — active nationwide. There had been 263,218 deaths attributable to the virus in the U.S. by Thursday afternoon, indicating a national COVID mortality rate of 2%.
Johns Hopkins reported 60,818,781 COVID-19 cases worldwide Thursday afternoon. Of those, 38,926,641 people were considered recovered, leaving 20,427,189 cases — 33.6% — active around the world. There had been 1,428,951 deaths attributable to the virus by Thursday afternoon, indicating a global COVID mortality rate of 2.3%.