Arkansas saw its largest single-day jump in confirmed positive covid-19 cases on Sunday, as well as a surge in cases at a Little Rock nursing home and a likely backup of health equipment across the state.
The number of confirmed cases in Arkansas has risen to 165, the Arkansas Department of Health reported Sunday afternoon.
That’s a jump of 47 cases since the department last updated the state’s numbers to 118 on Saturday.
“This is the largest increase, but it’s reflected also by the largest number of tests that we’ve had done,” Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said during a news conference on Sunday. “The testing will continue to increase and I expect the positive cases to continue to increase as well.”
Thirty-five residents and six staff members at Briarwood Nursing and Rehabilitation in Little Rock have tested positive, Hutchinson added.
Of the 165 positive test results, 84 came from the Arkansas Department of Health lab and 81 came from commercial labs.
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Though testing will increase, with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences set to begin testing Monday, the state is going to experience a bottleneck in receiving personal protective equipment, Hutchinson said. Those protective materials include masks, gowns and other healthcare essentials.
The federal government has most of the domestic supply of personal protective equipment in its national storehouse, and states request allocations. Arkansas received 25 percent of the equipment the state requested, according to the governor.
Amid the economic downturn brought on by the pandemic, Hutchinson said an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 Arkansans have filed unemployment claims in recent days.
Hutchinson said he will ask the Arkansas General Assembly to approve $1.1 million in his rainy day fund for upgrades to unemployment systems to handle the high number of claims.