The number of positive coronavirus cases in Arkansas sits at 997 Tuesday night, according to the state Department of Health website. The number was listed at 946 earlier Tuesday.
3:39 p.m.: Gov's data shows low number of virus hospitalizations; cases in state at 946
Figures presented by Gov. Asa Hutchinson Tuesday showed Arkansas has one of the lowest rates of covid-19 infection compared to surrounding states, as well as the lowest rate of hospitalization.
The state also has one of the lowest rates of testing, according to the numbers.
The graphics presented Tuesday by the governor compared Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Tennessee and Missouri.
Arkansas’ rate of infection per 100,000 people was 31.8.
Louisiana was highest with 327.9, followed by Tennessee with 59.9, then Mississippi with 58.6, then Missouri with 39.5, then Oklahoma at 35.4 then Arkansas and last, Texas, whose number was not readable when viewed via teleconference.
Hutchinson pointed to hospitalizations as perhaps a better metric for comparison. Although the number of people ill may be undercounted due to testing shortages, if someone is hospitalized, they will be tested and counted, Hutchinson noted.
Arkansas’ rate of hospitalization was lowest among the seven states analyzed, at 2.5 per 100,000 people.
Louisiana was highest at 39.9 per 100,000 people.
Tests performed per 100,000 for Arkansas was shown at 454.9. Only Texas and Oklahoma had fewer tests per 100,000.
Louisiana was highest at 1,525.7 tests per 100,000 people, which Hutchinson attributed to the state’s large outbreak.
3:02 p.m.: Virus cases increase to 946; state's death toll at 18
The number of coronavirus cases in Arkansas on Tuesday reached 946, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said, and two more patients died, bringing the toll to 18.
At the same news conference, Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. said he desires a stay-at-home order be issued for the city. Pulaski County has the highest number of cases in the state, more than 170, and Scott has already instituted a nightly curfew.
Only the governor can issue a stay-at-home order, and Hutchinson has resisted the idea, saying his targeted closures and directives are just as, if not more, effective. He added Tuesday that he believes a stay-at-home order should not be issued piecemeal but for the entire state at once, if it comes to that.
Scott said although he disagrees with the governor on an order for the city, he and the governor have a good working relationship and speak at least once a day about the outbreak.
Of the 946 cases reported Tuesday, 21 are children, 237 are adults 65+ and 688 are adults 18-64, Health Secretary Nate Smith said.
Thirteen additional inmates and one additional staff member at the federal prison in Forrest City have now tested positive, bringing total cases at the facility to 24 inmates and five staff, Smith said. He added that a Centers for Disease Control team is headed to the prison to begin work on containment Wednesday.
The first cases at the federal prison were announced last week by the Bureau of Prisons.
Separately, the Arkansas Department of Corrections said Tuesday that a total of seven staff members have tested positive for the virus.
A spokeswoman said that the numbers included staff at both state prisons as well as parole and probation offices. Three were security staff, said the spokeswoman, Dina Tyler. No inmates in the state Department of Corrections have tested positive for the virus.
Tyler said last week that a farm worker at the Cummins Unit was one of the staff members to test positive.
Nursing home residents account for 61 cases, Smith said at the Tuesday news conference, and health care workers account for 134.
As of Tuesday, 74 patients were hospitalized with covid-19, including 26 on ventilators.
Smith said the two additional deaths reported Tuesday were adults aged 65 or older, but he did not provide any more details.
Reporter John Moritz contributed to this story.
9:47 a.m.: Gov, state health officials to give 1:30 p.m. update; virus cases rise to 932
The number of confirmed covid-19 cases in Arkansas has increased to 932, according to the Health Department, marking an increase of five since Monday evening.
Deaths remained at 16, while a total of 142 people have recovered, the agency reported.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson and state health officials will provide an update on the coronavirus at 1:30 p.m. Check back to watch the live video.
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