The Arkansas Department of Health reported three new COVID-19 cases in Union County Sunday, bringing the cumulative number of cases identified locally to 1,072. The cases in the county Sunday included 976 confirmed cases, up one from Saturday, and 96 probable cases, up two from Saturday.
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.
There were 987 Union County residents considered recovered Sunday, up five from Saturday. Active cases in the county dropped by two to 38 Sunday, representing 3.5% of all the cases that have been identified locally. The active cases in Union County Sunday including 24 confirmed cases and 14 probable cases.
No new local deaths attributable to COVID-19 were reported Sunday. Forty-seven Union County residents have died as a result of the virus. In the Southwest Public Health Region of Arkansas, where Union County is located, 101 people were hospitalized due to the virus Sunday, including 36 in intensive care units and 20 on ventilator support.
The Arkansas Center for Health Improvement released school district-level COVID data updated through Oct. 12 this week. The data includes all cases identified within a district’s catchment area, and isn’t limited to student or staff/faculty cases in a given district.
According to the ACHI, 586 cases had been identified in the El Dorado School District’s catchment area, including 11 new cases in the past two weeks; 93 cases had been identified in the Junction City School District’s catchment area, including 13 new cases in the past two weeks; 48 cases had been identified in the Parkers Chapel School District’s catchment area; 105 cases had been identified in the Smackover-Norphlet School District’s catchment area, including 13 new cases in the last two weeks; and 76 cases had been identified in the Strong-Huttig School District.
The ACHI also reported that there were 17 new known COVID infections for every 10,000 residents in the ESD’s catchment area in the past two weeks; 38 new known COVID infections for every 10,000 residents in the JCSD’s catchment area in the past two weeks; and 21 new cases for every 10,000 residents in the SNSD’s catchment area in the past two weeks.
The ADH reported 36 new negative test results returned from Union County Sunday, indicating a one-day local positivity rate of 7.7% based on the number of new cases and results reported. In all, 11,865 COVID-19 test results have returned from Union County, including 10,793 negatives, indicating an overall local positivity rate of 9%.
In Arkansas, the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases grew to 99,066, up 644 from Saturday. The cases in the state Sunday included 93,356 confirmed cases, up 529 from Saturday, and 5,710 probable cases, up 115 from Saturday.
The ADH reported the deaths of 20 Arkansans that resulted from COVID-19 on Sunday, bringing the state’s death toll to 1,704, indicating a state COVID mortality rate of 1.7%. There were 565 Arkansans hospitalized due to the virus Sunday, including 241 in ICUs and 96 on ventilator support.
There were 88,450 Arkansans considered recovered from the virus Sunday, up 530 from Saturday. Active cases rose again Sunday for the fourth day in a row; they increased by 94 to reach 8,904, representing 9% of all the cases identified in the state. The active cases in Arkansas Sunday included 7,621 confirmed cases and 1,283 probable cases.
Since the state began testing for COVID-19, 1,251,578 results have returned to the ADH, including 1,151,914 negatives, indicating an overall positivity rate for the state of 7.9%.
At 3 p.m., Johns Hopkins University reported 8,140,728 COVID-19 cases in the United States. Of those, 3,220,573 people were considered recovered, leaving 4,700,556 cases — 57.7% — active nationwide. There had been 219,599 deaths attributable to the virus in the U.S. by Sunday afternoon, indicating a national COVID mortality rate of 2.7%.
Johns Hopkins reported 39,842,711 COVID-19 cases worldwide Sunday afternoon. Of those, 27,364,315 people were considered recovered, leaving 11,366,522 cases — 28.5% — active around the world. There had been 1,111,874 deaths attributable to the virus by Sunday afternoon, indicating a global COVID mortality rate of 2.8%.