Gov. Asa Hutchinson held a COVID-19 press conference Tuesday, where, along with discussing the rise in virus cases, he urged state legislators to give school districts the power to decide locally whether masks should be mandated within their schools.
Last week, Hutchinson announced that he would be reinstating the State of Emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic in Arkansas. He said he planned to call a special legislative session to give lawmakers the opportunity to amend Act 1002, which disallows government entities, including local school boards, from requiring masks.
On Tuesday, he said the state General Assembly had already affirmed his proclamation declaring the State of Emergency.
"In the last legislative session, the Assembly changed the law to accept an equal responsibility in managing the state's response to the current public health crisis," he said. "As a result of that new law, the General Assembly met today and affirmed my more recent renewal of the public health emergency, and I'm grateful for the quick action."
Today, the Legislature will meet again to consider at least two more items related to the pandemic: one, considering amending Act 1002 to give local school districts "flexibility to add protection for children under 12," who are not eligible to be vaccinated against COVID-19; and two, to address a recent state court ruling regarding federal unemployment payments to those who lost their job as a result of the pandemic.
Schools and masks
In April, state Sen. Trent Garner, R-El Dorado, sponsored Senate Bill 590, "An Act to end mandatory face covering requirements in the State of Arkansas." The bill stated that a "a state agency or entity, a political subdivision of the state, or a state or local official shall not mandate an individual in this state to use a face mask, face shield, or other face covering," leaving it up to the state Legislature to enact such measures for those entities. Limited exceptions include state-controlled health care facilities.
The bill received 20 "yeas" in the state Senate and 69 in the House of Representatives, out of 27 and 100 members in the respective chambers. It was signed into law on April 28 by the governor.
Hutchinson said Tuesday that because children under the age of 12 are not eligible to be vaccinated against COVID-19, he hopes the state Legislature will make an exception to the new law so local school districts will have another tool in their belts to make schools safe for children.
"We do have a vulnerable group that is not eligible for the vaccine," he said. "They are required to go to school. Secondly, we understand the value of in-classroom instruction and we want those children to be as safe as possible. Local school districts are all different across the state and they have different opinions on this and they reflect different wishes of parents and their constituents. The local school district should make the call and they should have more options to make sure their school is a safe environment during a very challenging time for education."
Dr. Jose Romero, the state secretary of health, said Tuesday that the share of COVID-19 cases in children has increased significantly this summer. He said that as of August 1, 19% of the cases in the state were in children under 18, with children under 12 representing more than half of those cases.
The number of COVID-19 cases identified in children under 18, Romero said, increased by more than 500% between April and July, and more than 600% for children under 12. The rate of hospitalization due to COVID-19 in children under 18 has increased by 270%, he said, while ICU admissions for that group have jumped by nearly 275%.
In July, Romero said, 58% of those under 18 hospitalized due to the virus were under the age of 12.
"I think these numbers exemplify and bring out a very sobering aspect of the pandemic in our state. We have a group of individuals who are extremely susceptible to infection because they do not have eligibility for a vaccine," Romero said. "As the governor said, we do not have a (mask) mandate, but I clearly recommend this for children going to school."
Romero also noted that as of Tuesday, 32.2% of the state's population ages 12 to 18 has been vaccinated, and 18.4% are fully immunized.
"I share this number with you so that we can increase our immunization numbers among those who can receive it and so that we can encourage the use of masking," he said.
Johnny Key, the state secretary of education, said school districts are encouraged this year to promote vaccination among students who are old enough to be eligible for it.
"We certainly do encourage our districts to think about how they can increase those numbers within the ages 12 and up. That is something we stand ready to support them, and we know Col. (Robert) Ator (retired National Guard colonel who runs the state's vaccination effort), Dr. Romero and their teams are ready to work with us to make sure that those students and the parents that want to have access to that have them readily available to them, and we encourage that through clinics, through other outreach efforts that schools are going to be a very important part of delivering," Key said.
Key noted that throughout the summer, the state Department of Education has worked with school districts to prepare for the upcoming school year, including by helping to add ventilation in schools and buses. The department also released updated "Ready for Learning" guidelines last week with recommended steps for schools to take to limit the spread of COVID-19.
"This year, because of the Delta variant and the impact it has, (the virus) is definitely more weighted to the younger population," Key said. "But the strategies we employed last year, we believe, will continue to be effective."
The News-Times has created a poll for readers to share their thoughts on masking in schools. Visit eldoradonews.secondstreetapp.com/POLL-Masking-at-school to share your thoughts.
Unemployment
In May, the governor announced that the state would be opting out of a federal unemployment assistance program that offered an additional $300 per week to those who lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic.
Last week, a Pulaski County circuit judge ordered the state to try to resume its participation in the program by issuing a temporary injunction against Hutchinson's order. According to reporting by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, about 69,000 Arkansans were receiving unemployment benefits at the time of the judge's ruling.
"A state court judge ruled that the state did not have the authority to opt out of the federal program, and so for that reason, even though that's on appeal to the Arkansas Supreme Court, I did add one additional item on the call which will be to provide legislative clarification that the intent of the legislature gave authority to opt out of federal optional programs," Hutchinson said on Tuesday.
Virus in Arkansas
More than 2,300 new COVID-19 cases were reported statewide Tuesday, along with 16 new COVID-related deaths and an increase of 30 in the number of people hospitalized due to the virus.
The governor said that the vast majority of those diagnosed with, hospitalized for and killed by the virus are unvaccinated people.
According to a graph presented during Hutchinson's press conference, since January 1, 95.29% of new COVID-19 cases have been among unvaccinated people; 94.58% of COVID-related hospitalizations have been in unvaccinated people; and 97.01% of those killed by the virus have been unvaccinated.
Additionally, he said, in the period between January 11, which the governor said was the height of the pandemic this past winter, and Tuesday, the share of hospitalizations caused by COVID-19 has increased. He said 20% of hospitalizations in Arkansas Tuesday were COVID-related, versus 17.4% on Jan. 11; 43.2% of those in the ICU are there because of the virus, versus 39% on Jan. 11; and 54.8% of the people on ventilator support in Arkansas are there because of COVID, versus 50.3% on Jan. 11.
"So even though our raw numbers are not as high as January 11, the percents are higher, and this is really the pressure point on the hospitals. We're working very hard to address that. Our hospital administrators are looking at that," Hutchinson said. "We hope that we can address that serious challenge that we have on available beds."
According to the Arkansas Department of Health, on Tuesday at 2 p.m., there were 1,715 hospital beds available, 38 ICU beds available and 591 ventilators available in Arkansas. ADH Spokesperson Danyelle McNeill noted that hospitalization numbers can change quickly.
"Those numbers quickly change though. That's the thing to always keep in mind about hospitalization numbers - they're very changeable," she said in an email to the News-Times.
Testing and vaccines
COVID-19 testing is available in several locations in Union County. According to the ADH, one can be tested for the virus at SAMA, at 600 S. Timberlane in El Dorado; Medical Center of South Arkansas, at 700 W. Grove in El Dorado; the Union County Local Health Unit, at 301 American Rd. in El Dorado; and the Strong Clinic, at 253 S. Concord in Strong.
Vaccination is also available in Union County at several locations in El Dorado.
Vaccines are free to all and one does not need to have health insurance to be vaccinated.
Three COVID-19 vaccines developed by pharmaceutical companies Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson have been approved for use in the United States. The Pfizer vaccine has been approved for use in people as young as 12 years old, while the latter two are approved for use in anyone over the age of 18.
In Union County, COVID vaccines are available at Melvin's Discount Pharmacy, Walmart and the Union County Local Health Unit. To set a vaccination appointment at Melvin's, call 870-863-4155; for Walmart, visit walmart.com/COVID; and for the Local Health Unit, call 1-800-985-6030.