41 new local COVID cases, one death reported

The Arkansas Department of Health reported 41 new COVID-19 cases in Union County Wednesday, raising the cumulative total of cases identified locally to 2,625. The number of confirmed cases in the county increased by 30 to reach 2,029 Wednesday, and probable cases increased to 596, up 11 from Tuesday.

The United States Centers for Disease Control considers positive results from PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests to be confirmed cases and positive results from antigen (rapid) tests to be probable cases.

One Union County resident’s death that resulted from COVID-19 was reported Wednesday. Their death marks the first COVID-related fatality of the year in the county; they are the 74th local resident to die as a result of the virus, indicating a local COVID mortality rate of 2.8%.

The number of active cases in the county dropped by two to reach 285 Wednesday; they represented 10.9% of all the cases identified locally and included 241 confirmed cases and 44 probable cases. The number of Union County residents considered recovered from the virus grew to 2,266, up 42 from Tuesday.

A report on COVID cases in educational institutions produced by the ADH on Jan. 4 showed active cases in the El Dorado and Parkers Chapel school districts, as well as an increase in the total number of cases identified in both districts.

There were 12 known active COVID-19 cases in the ESD on Jan. 4, and a total of 178 cases, 64 in staff and faculty members and 111 in students, had been identified. In the PCSD, seven known active cases were reported Jan. 4, out of a total of 50 cases identified in the district, including 17 staff and faculty cases and 31 student cases.

The ADH also produced a report on Jan. 4 on COVID cases in nursing homes. In Union County, Advanced Health and Rehab, Courtyard Healthcare and Rehabilitation, Hudson Memorial Nursing Home and Timberlane Health and Rehabilitation reported active cases.

Two residents and five workers at Advanced Health reportedly had active cases of the virus, with the most recent positive test results returned for a resident on Dec. 25, 2020, and on Dec. 29, 2020 for a worker. A total of 12 residents and 21 workers have contracted the virus; seven residents and 16 workers have recovered and three residents have died as a result of COVID-19.

At Courtyard, six workers reportedly had active cases, with the most recent positive test result returning on Dec. 30, 2020. In all, 46 workers and 45 residents have contracted the virus, with 40 workers and 37 residents having recovered. Eight residents have died as a result of the virus.

Hudson reported two active resident cases and eight active worker cases, with the most recent positive test results returned on Dec. 31, 2020 for both groups. A total of 66 residents and 43 workers have contracted COVID-19, and 43 residents and 35 workers have recovered; 21 residents there have died as a result of the virus.

At Timberlane, one worker had an active case of the virus. Twenty-nine workers total have contracted the virus, 28 having recovered, and 43 residents have contracted it, with 36 having recovered. Seven Timberlane residents have died as a result of the virus.

There were 212 people hospitalized due to the virus Wednesday in the Southwest hospital region of the state, where Union County sits, including 77 in intensive care units and 36 on ventilator support.

The ADH reported 413 new negative test results returned from Union County Wednesday. In all, 21,877 COVID-19 test results have returned from Union County, including 19,252 negatives, indicating an overall local positivity rate of 12%.

Arkansas added 3,705 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday to its cumulative total, which reached 242,593. The cases in the state included 198,254 confirmed cases, up 2,324 from Tuesday, and 44,339 probable cases, up 1,381 from Tuesday.

Active cases in the state increased by 684 Wednesday to reach 25,092, a new record; they represented 10.3% of all the state’s cases and included 16,954 confirmed cases and 8,138 probable cases. There were 213,574 Arkansans considered recovered from the virus Wednesday, up 2,957 from Tuesday.

The deaths of 65 Arkansans that were a result of COVID-19 were reported Tuesday, setting a new one-day record for COVID deaths in the state. The state’s death toll increased to 3,901, indicating a state COVID mortality rate of 1.6%. There were 1,321 Arkansans hospitalized due to the virus Wednesday, including 427 in ICUs and 217 on ventilator support.

Since the state began testing for COVID-19, 2,385,951 test results have returned to the ADH, including 2,135,255 negatives, indicating an overall positivity rate for the state of 10.2%.

At 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Johns Hopkins University reported 21,225,179 COVID-19 cases in the United States. Data wasn’t available then on the number of U.S. residents considered recovered from the virus or the number of active cases in the States. By Wednesday afternoon, 359,977 deaths attributable to the virus had been reported in the U.S., indicating a national COVID mortality rate of 1.7%.

Johns Hopkins reported 86,948,012 COVID-19 cases worldwide Wednesday afternoon. There were 48,689,878 people considered recovered from the virus then, leaving 36,380,282 cases — 41.8% — active around the world. There had been 1,877,852 deaths attributable to the virus reported by Wednesday afternoon, indicating a global COVID mortality rate of 2.2%.

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