Union County saw fewer than 10 new COVID-19 cases added to its cumulative total last week, but the number of new cases outpaced the number of residents meeting the criteria for recovery for the second week in a row.
Between Sunday, April 4, and Saturday, April 10, only nine new COVID cases were identified in Union County, while six local residents met the criteria for recovery, according to data from the Arkansas Department of Health.
By Saturday, a total of 3,955 cases had been identified in Union County. Most —2,922 — were confirmed cases, determined by positive PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests; they also accounted for most of the new cases identified in the county last week. Four new probable cases, determined by positive antigen (rapid) tests, identified in the county last week brought the total number of probable cases identified locally to 1,033.
Recoveries stagnated for three days last week at 3,823 before growing by one to reach 3,824 Saturday.
One Union County resident also died this week as a result of the virus. In total, 112 local residents have died as a result of COVID-19, indicating a local COVID mortality rate — the percentage of people who died after contracting the virus — of 2.8%.
Vaccination against the virus is ongoing, and as of April 8, according to Arkansas COVID, a University of Arkansas School of Journalism and Strategic Media program that has been tracking COVID-19 data in the state, 3,111 Union County residents, or about 10% of the local population, was partially vaccinated in addition to 4,467, or 14% of the population, that were fully vaccinated against COVID. There were 997 local residents who reached full immunity last week.
In the Southwest hospital region of the state, where Union County sits, 13,619 vaccine doses were administered last week, making 145,593 total doses administered in the region. According to the ADH, 10.1% of the region’s population was partially vaccinated against COVID and 18.2% of the population was fully immunized Saturday.
A number of mass vaccination clinics are scheduled this week in Union County at the Local Health Unit at 301 American Rd. in El Dorado.
Starting Tuesday, vaccine clinics will be held daily at the health unit through Friday. The clinic Tuesday will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., and from Wednesday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
According to a press release about the clinics, only the Johnson & Johnson one-shot vaccine will be offered, which is only approved for people 18 and older. Though all Arkansans 16 and older are eligible to be vaccinated against the virus, those who are 16 or 17 years old are only approved to receive the Pfizer vaccine at this time.
To set an appointment at one of the ADH vaccine clinics at the local health unit, call 1-800-985-6030. The vaccine will be provided at no cost to all who wish to take it, though those with insurance are asked to bring their cards.
COVID vaccines are also available in Union County at the Medical Center of South Arkansas, Melvin’s Discount Pharmacy and Walmart. To set an appointment at MCSA, call 870-863-2620; to do so at Melvin’s, call 870-863-4155; and for an appointment at Walmart, visit walmart.com/COVID.
Hospitalizations caused by the virus in the Southwest region mostly grew throughout the week, with the lowest level recorded at 11 last Sunday. On Friday, hospitalizations hit a high of 18, where they remained Saturday, with three people in intensive care units and two on ventilator support as a result of the virus.
Testing remained low in Union County last week, with 97 new test results reported, indicating a seven-day local positivity rate of 9.3%. In all, 31,684 COVID-19 test results have returned from the county, including 27,729 negatives, indicating an overall local positivity rate of 12.5%.
Statewide, the number of new COVID-19 cases reported outpaced recoveries by 50 last week.
A total of 999 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Arkansas last week, while 949 new recoveries were reported.
On Saturday, the ADH reported that the cumulative number of cases in the state had grown by 171 to reach 332,053; the total was made up of 260,450 confirmed cases and 71,603 probable cases.
The number of Arkansans who have met the criteria for recovery grew by 142 Saturday to reach 324,582.
The number of active cases statewide also grew throughout the week, with the lowest number, 1,602, having been recorded Tuesday, and subsequent increases growing the number to 1,761 by Saturday.
There were also 18 Arkansans who died as a result of the virus last week; in total, 5,661 Arkansans’ deaths have been caused by COVID, indicating a state COVID mortality rate of 1.7%.
Across Arkansas, nearly 150,000 vaccine doses were administered last week. A total of 2,036,000 vaccine doses have been received by the state, and 1,389,916 have been administered. As of Saturday, 358,489 Arkansans were partially vaccinated against the virus, while 538,599 were considered fully immunized.
The lowest number of hospitalizations statewide last week was reported on Thursday, when Arkansas fell to 141 residents hospitalized due to the virus; however, on Saturday, hospitalizations were at a week-long high of 163, including 55 in ICUs and 20 on ventilator support.
There were 31,582 new COVID test results returned to Arkansas this week, indicating a seven-day positivity rate for the state of 3.2%. Since the state began testing for the virus, 3,437,770 results have returned to the ADH, including 3,092,677 negatives, indicating an overall positivity rate for the state of 9.7%.
Nationally, about 383,000 new COVID-19 cases reported since last Sunday made the total number of cases identified in the United States 31,085,251 as of Saturday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. About 6,000 U.S. deaths caused by COVID last week made 561,074 total deaths resulting from the virus in the country, indicating a national COVID mortality rate of 1.8%.
Worldwide, approximately 3.6 million new COVID cases reported last week brought the cumulative total of cases identified to 134,719,328. Almost 2.2 million people met the criteria for recovery last week, and 76,537,874 total are considered recovered, leaving about 55,265,482 cases active around the world on Saturday. About 65,863 people died as a result of the virus last week, and the 2,915,972 deaths recorded worldwide by Saturday afternoon indicates a global COVID mortality rate of 2.2%.