The Arkansas Department of Health reported eight new COVID-19 cases in Union County Tuesday, bringing the cumulative number of cases identified locally to 1,081. The cases in the county Tuesday included 980 confirmed cases, up four from Monday, and 101 probable cases, up four from Monday.
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.
Four new recoveries were reported Tuesday, making 998 Union County residents considered recovered. Active cases grew by four to reach 36 Tuesday, representing 3.33% of all the cases identified in the county. The active cases in Union County Tuesday included 19 confirmed cases and 17 probable cases.
No new local deaths attributable to COVID-19 were reported Tuesday. Forty-seven 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, 116 people were hospitalized due to the virus, including 41 in intensive care units and 21 on ventilator support. The case growth rate in the Southwest was 5.2% over the last week, ranking third among the state’s five public health regions in growth rate.
The ADH reported 105 new negative test results returned from Union County Tuesday, indicating a one-day local positivity rate of 7.1% based on the number of new cases and results reported. In all, 12,028 COVID-19 test results have returned from Union County, including 10,947 negatives, indicating an overall local positivity rate of 9%.
In Arkansas, the cumulative number of cases grew by 844 to reach 100,441, a significant milestone Gov. Asa Hutchinson addressed during his weekly COVID-19 update Tuesday. The cases in the state Tuesday included 94,418 confirmed cases, up 628 from Monday, and 6,023 probable cases, up 216 from Monday.
“That is a milestone I know everyone will note as being a remarkable, large number,” Hutchinson said.
Hutchinson noted at the start of his update that it was the 153rd he has given since the COVID-19 pandemic first hit Arkansas.
“I don’t think anyone anticipated that it would go this long or require this kind of attention, but this is important to continue to communicate with Arkansans about the serious nature of what we face,” he said.
He also announced that he would be limiting his public appearances this week due to a potential exposure to someone who tested positive for COVID-19 after Hutchinson had met with them. The announcement comes a day after Hutchinson flew around the state to encourage Arkansans to vote ‘for’ Ballot Issue 1 concerning a .5% sales tax for roads.
“While the meeting (with the COVID-19 positive person) did not rise to the level of CDC quarantine guidance, out of an abundance of caution, I will be limiting my meetings,” he said.
He went on to explain that prior to his visits around the state, he was tested for COVID-19 twice, with both an antigen and PCR test, both of which came back negative. He said he also observed social distancing at all his stops, which included one in El Dorado, and wore a mask throughout the trip, including on a plane he rode in to different cities in the state. ADH Secretary Dr. Jose Romero said Hutchinson will be tested again today, Friday and next Monday, as well as on any day in between those should he begin exhibiting symptoms.
The governor delivered this week’s update via Zoom, with reporters and other state officials calling in remotely.
Hutchinson proceeded to discuss patterns health officials have seen developing in the state’s COVID cases. He noted that testing has been consistent in recent weeks, with the number of antigen tests declining during weekend days; cases have also been consistent over week-long periods, he said.
“You can see the pattern that is developing: week by week, we will have, toward the end of the week, the high number of cases that have trended over 1,000 on a Wednesday or a Thursday, and then they go down over the weekend, Monday and Tuesday, and then they start kicking up,” he said.
However, there are two areas of concern for health officials, Hutchinson said: hospitalizations, which increased by 24 across the state to reach 637 at the time of the governor’s press conference, and positivity rate, for which the state has consistently been over its goal of 5%.
“Talking to some of our hospital officials, they describe it (hospital space) as tight, but they have such a good working relationship among them that they can move resources and continue to do their other necessary surgeries,” Hutchinson said. “But we’re all worried about the winter and if our flu season or other hospitalizations go up, it’s hard to manage all of it together.”
He noted that with the flu season upcoming, as well as an expected winter-resurgence of the COVID-19 virus, health officials expect hospitals to continue taking patients, but said he hopes Arkansans will work to prevent transmission of both the flu and the coronavirus.
“It’s not just COVID taking our hospital space, it’s all the other issues of life that take hospital space as well. So for that reason, we need to really work hard in our flu season to control that and hopefully get the hospitalizations down, even though everyone is prepared and realistic that those hospitalizations very well will go up a little bit more from where they are now,” he said.
Romero also gave an update, reminding Arkansans that if at least half the population abides by public health guidance related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the state would have a better chance at getting the coronavirus under control.
“The continuing number of cases that we’re seeing indicates that the mask mandate is not being adhered to as we would like to see it. I would like to remind everyone that its essential that we follow all the recommendations for decreasing transmissions, which is the mask coverings, our social distancing of six feet and washing our hands,” Romero said. “We need to have at least 50% of the population use the masks, use these guidelines consistently in order to see a decrease in the number of cases that we report each day.”
Romero also noted that ventilator usage had surpassed 100 at the time of the press conference Tuesday, and said he’d prefer to “see that below 100 if possible.”
Hutchinson said that while the state is doing all it can to control the virus, he believes Arkansans can also call on God for help; in light of that, he announced that he would sign a proclamation Tuesday afternoon declaring Sunday, Oct. 25, a day of voluntary prayer for Arkansas “in regard to the challenges we face as a people and to recognize our dependence on a sovereign God and ask for His strength.”
“We do a lot in Arkansas to address the pandemic: we are following public health guidelines, we’re being careful, we’re limiting our activities and we’re doing everything we can humanly; but it is also important to recognize that we need the help of Divine Providence and it is the right thing to do to call upon Him,” he said.
The governor also addressed upcoming holidays centered around family-gatherings, like Thanksgiving. While he said the state will not impose any mandates on family gatherings, Arkansans should be thoughtful when considering whether it is wise to visit family or have family visit amid the pandemic.
“All we can do is admonish and remind, because these are within individual home gatherings… You need to think through that as to: Where are they travelling from? How careful are they? What’s going to happen when they get there? And how many are there? Those are questions families need to think through,” Hutchinson said. “Families can get together, it just needs to be a limited and in a very careful fashion.”
Hutchinson also gave a brief economic update, saying that the state’s unemployment rate had dropped from 7.4% to 7.3% over the past month.
“That is great news for Arkansans,” he said. “That’s a slow downward trend. I hope that will continue, but we know the challenging economic environment that we’re in with some of the businesses that we have still adversely impacted by the pandemic.”
The number of Arkansans considered recovered from the virus increased to 90,283 Tuesday, up 1,066 from Monday. Active cases decreased again Tuesday as well, by 236 to reach 8,422, representing 8.4% of all the cases in the state. The active cases in Arkansas Tuesday included 7,159 confirmed cases and 1,263 probable cases.
The deaths of 14 Arkansans that resulted from COVID-19 were reported on Tuesday, bringing the state’s death toll to 1,728, indicating a state COVID mortality rate of 1.7%. At 3:30 p.m., the ADH reported 627 Arkansans hospitalized due to the virus, including 257 in ICUs and 96 on ventilator support.
Hutchinson said the state received results on 7,868 COVID-19 tests between Monday and Tuesday, including 5,439 PCR tests and 2,429 antigen tests, indicating a one-day positivity rate for the state of 10.7% based on the number of new cases and results reported. Since the state began testing for COVID-19, 1,269,190 results have returned to the ADH, including 1,168,100 negatives, indicating an overall positivity rate for the state of 7.9%.
“We want to work on that positivity rate,” Hutchinson said Tuesday.
At 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Johns Hopkins University reported 8,253,557 COVID-19 cases in the United States. Of those, 3,272,603 people were considered recovered, leaving 4,760,211 cases — 57.7% — active nationwide. There had been 220,743 deaths attributable to the virus in the U.S. by Tuesday afternoon, indicating a national COVID mortality rate of 2.7%.
Johns Hopkins reported 40,624,378 COVID-19 cases worldwide Tuesday afternoon. Of those, 27,765,639 people were considered recovered, leaving 11,737,270 cases — 28.9% — active around the world. There had been 1,121,469 deaths attributable to the virus by Tuesday afternoon, indicating a global COVID mortality rate of 2.7%.