The Arkansas Department of Health reported 14 new COVID-19 cases in Union County Thursday, bringing the cumulative number of cases identified locally to 1,144. The cases in the county Thursday included 1,019 confirmed cases, up 12 from Wednesday, and 125 probable cases, up two from Wednesday.
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.
Five new recoveries were reported locally Thursday, bringing the total number of residents considered recovered to 1,042. The number of active cases in Union County increased by nine Thursday to reach 53, representing 4.6% of all the cases identified locally. The active cases in the county Thursday included 35 confirmed cases and 18 probable cases.
No new local deaths attributable to COVID-19 were reported Thursday. Forty-nine 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, 111 people were hospitalized Thursday, including 48 in intensive care units and 17 on ventilator support.
The ADH reported 153 new negative test results returned from Union County Thursday, indicating a one-day local positivity rate of 8.4% based on the number of new cases and results reported. In all, 13,016 COVID-19 tests have returned from Union County, including 11,872 negatives, indicating an overall local positivity rate of 8.8%.
In Arkansas, the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases grew by 1,072 to reach 109,712 Thursday. The cases in the state Thursday included 101,588 confirmed cases, up 837 from Wednesday, and 8,142 probable cases, up 253 from Wednesday.
The deaths of 19 Arkansans that resulted from COVID-19 were reported Thursday, bringing the state’s death toll to 1,894, indicating a state COVID mortality rate of 1.7%. There were 647 Arkansans hospitalized due to the virus Thursday, including 226 in ICUs and 95 on ventilator support.
There were 98,340 Arkansans considered recovered from the virus Thursday, up 890 from Wednesday. The number of active cases in the state grew by 163 Thursday to reach 9,466, representing 8.6% of all the cases identified in the state. The active cases in Arkansas Thursday included 7,672 confirmed cases and 1,794 probable cases.
Since the state began testing for COVID-19, 1,381,586 test results have returned to the ADH, including 1,270,906 negatives, indicating an overall positivity rate for the state of 8.6%.
At 3:20 p.m. Thursday, Johns Hopkins University reported 8,918,548 COVID-19 cases in the United States. Of those, 3,518,140 people were considered recovered, leaving 5,172,084 cases — 58% — active nationwide. There had been 228,324 deaths attributable to the virus in the U.S. by Thursday afternoon, indicating a national COVID mortality rate of 2.6%.
Johns Hopkins reported 44,845,216 COVID-19 cases worldwide Thursday afternoon. Of those, 30,138,392 people were considered recovered, leaving 13,528,926 cases — 30.2% — active around the world. There had been 1,177,898 deaths attributable to the virus by Thursday afternoon, indicating a global COVID mortality rate of 2.6%.