$1.25B awaited for virus fight in Arkansas; governor sets panel to oversee funds as state cases top 500

 Gov. Asa Hutchinson speaks Monday March 30, 2020 in Little Rock during a daily press conference about the corona virus in Arkansas. See more photos at arkansasonline.com/331governor/.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson speaks Monday March 30, 2020 in Little Rock during a daily press conference about the corona virus in Arkansas. See more photos at arkansasonline.com/331governor/.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Monday that he expects Arkansas to receive $1.25 billion from the coronavirus aid legislation passed by Congress last week for needs such as adding hospital capacity and buying ventilators and protective medical gear.

He spoke hours after the death of a woman who was among dozens of residents of a Little Rock nursing home who tested positive for the virus and before the number of cases in the state topped 500.

Alice Jett, an 83-year-old resident of Briarwood Nursing and Rehabilitation, died Monday morning at CHI St. Vincent Infirmary in Little Rock, Pulaski County Coroner Gerone Hobbs said.

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She was the seventh person in the state, and the first resident of an Arkansas nursing home, to die during the coronavirus pandemic.

Later Monday, the total number of cases reported on a state website rose to 508, an increase of 59 from the previous evening. Arkansas' first case was reported March 11.

The federal money is expected from the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act signed by President Donald Trump on Friday and must be allocated by the end of December.

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Hutchinson on Monday appointed a 15-member steering committee of cabinet secretaries and legislators to recommend how the money should be spent in Arkansas. He said he expects the money to be available within 30 days.

The state's budget has been hit by reduced tax collections. But Hutchinson said the federal money must be spent on coronavirus response and can't be used to plug budget holes.

"It's going to be used for the acquisition of hospitals beds that might be needed, the ventilators, respirators, the equipment that I've identified," Hutchinson said.

He said the spending could also help the state prepare for needs beyond this year.

"We don't know what's going to happen next year with it," he said. "So part of it could be the current crisis and meeting the needs and costs, but it also could be looking at the future."

The steering committee includes the secretaries of the departments of Finance and Administration, Commerce, Health, Human Services, Transformation and Shared Services, Public Safety, Inspector General and Education; Hutchinson's Deputy Chief of Staff Bill Gossage; Sens. Missy Irvin, R-Mountain View, David Wallace, R-Leachville, and Will Bond, D-Little Rock; and Reps. Lane Jean, R-Magnolia, Michelle Gray, R-Melbourne, and Fred Allen, D-Little Rock.

SUPPLY FUNDING

Hutchinson earlier this month allocated $30 million from the state's budget stabilization trust fund to buy masks and other personal protective equipment for health care workers.

On Monday, state Senate and House leaders approved his request to spend $45 million from the newly created covid-19 rainy-day fund on the state's response efforts.

The money includes $30 million for masks and other protective equipment, $13.5 million for ventilators and $1.5 million for a public education campaign by the Health Department.

"Please be aware that global demand for [personal protective equipment] and ventilators is very high," Finance and Administration Secretary Larry Walther said in an email to House and Senate leaders.

"This request is being made now to ensure the State of Arkansas has made proper arrangements to procure these supplies not just for the immediate needs that we face but also for future needs as this crisis evolves."

The rainy-day fund was created during the Legislature's special session last week to receive $173 million in surplus funds.

In his email, Walther said the federal coronavirus relief funds may provide reimbursement for the planned $45 million in expenses.

VENTILATORS SNAGGED

In one example of the competitive market for supplies, Steppe Mette, CEO of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Medical Center, said Monday that Arkansas ended up losing its order for 500 ventilators from an overseas manufacturer after New York learned about it.

New York offered double the $19,000 per ventilator that Arkansas had agreed to pay, and put in an order for 10,000 of them, Mette said.

"That doesn't mean there won't be other opportunities, but that's the environment in which we are living, sadly," Mette said at a meeting of Little Rock's covid-19 task force.

"This is the problem, that we are competing with other states, other organizations, other countries, for ventilators."

Hutchinson, in a statement, called the situation "frustrating and not how we traditionally do business."

"As I've stated in my daily briefings, unfortunately states and other countries are competing against one another," he said.

The governor said the state has an adequate supply now, but he's working "to address the potential shortage 30 days from now."

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"We will continue exploring all options to ensure we have adequate supplies when additional ventilators are needed in Arkansas," he said.

Officials initially expected to have the ventilators in Arkansas by April 8, said Dean Kumpuris, chairman of the Little Rock task force and an at-large city director.

He said he would continue working with U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-Little Rock, on getting supplies.

"We will find more," Kumpuris said.

Arkansas had 802 ventilators as of Friday afternoon, including 577 that weren't in use.

A report by the Arkansas Hospital Association, using a model created by the Harvard School of Public Health and the Harvard Global Health Institute, indicates the state would need about 1,000 more ventilators under a "moderate" scenario in which the number of hospital patients peaks in June, Mette said.

But a University of Washington study, which predicts hospitalizations peaking toward the end of April, indicates the state's current ventilator supply could be adequate.

As of Monday, 21 of Arkansas' hospitalized patients were on ventilators, up from 16 a day earlier.

"It's tough to know" how many machines the state will need, Mette said, but 500 "is a good place to start."

DECEASED IDENTIFIED

County coroners identified the fourth and fifth people in the state to die of the virus.

Franklin Ross, 80, of Morrilton died at 5:33 p.m. Friday at St. Vincent's in Little Rock, Hobbs said.

Tanisha Cotton, 42, of Little Rock, died Saturday morning at Saline Memorial Hospital in Benton, according to the Saline County coroner's office.

The others are:

• Brian Dill Sr., 59, of Sherwood on March 24 became the first person to die of the coronavirus in Arkansas.

• Bill Barton, 90, of Greers Ferry died of the virus later the same morning.

• Terry Henderson, 73, of Edgemont died the following evening. Both he and Barton were among dozens of members of Greers Ferry Assembly of God Church who have tested positive for covid-19.

• Health Department Secretary Nate Smith has identified the sixth victim only as a person older than 65 who died at home after having previously been hospitalized.

ILL ELDERLY

The virus emerged late last year in Wuhan, China, and spreads through respiratory droplets emitted when people sneeze or cough. Symptoms -- fever, cough and shortness of breath -- have been mild for many people. Studies have indicated that the virus can live for days on surfaces.

The elderly and people with chronic health conditions are considered most at risk of severe illness, including pneumonia.

As of Monday afternoon, 62 of those who had tested positive in Arkansas were hospitalized, up from 43 a day earlier.

By Monday evening, cases had been reported in 51 of the state's 75 counties, including the first cases reported in Arkansas, Newton, Perry and St. Francis counties.

Pulaski County had the highest total, 98; followed by Cleburne County, which had 58; Benton County, which had 38; Faulkner County, which had 36; Jefferson County, which had 33; and Garland County, which had 31.

The Arkansans who were recently diagnosed include a resident of Greene Acres Nursing Home in Paragould, making it the fifth nursing home in the state where a resident has tested positive, and two residents of The Waters at White Hall nursing home, where four other residents tested positive earlier. A worker at The Waters at White Hall is also among those recently testing positive, Smith said.

The other nursing homes with cases are Briarwood, where 37 residents and at least 10 staff members have tested positive; The Villages of General Baptist West in Pine Bluff, where two residents have been diagnosed; and Apple Creek Health and Rehab in Centerton, where one patient has a confirmed diagnosis.

Six of the new cases were health care workers, bringing the total number of such workers who have been infected to 73.

Of all those who have tested positive in the state, about 60% are women, 74% are white and 15% are black, Smith said.

As of Monday afternoon, 17 of the people who have tested positive are children or teenagers 18 or older, 149 are 65 or older and 307 are 18 to 64, Smith said.

Six of those who have tested positive were pregnant, 37 have diabetes, 36 have heart disease, 22 have chronic lung disease, 10 have chronic kidney disease and 12 have compromised immune systems.

BUDGET REVISION

To prevent the spread of the virus, Hutchinson has ordered the closure of restaurant dining rooms, bars, fitness clubs, hair salons and other businesses. In addition, many businesses have curtailed hours or limited access to customers. All these factors are expected to cause a drop in state tax revenue.

These factors, along with extending the state's income tax payment and filing deadline, caused the state last week to cut its general revenue budget by $353 million to $5.38 billion in fiscal 2020, which ends June 30.

The cut also reduced this year's total general revenue forecast from $7.05 billion to $6.69 billion.

Hutchinson said the state's report on general revenue tax collections in March will be released in the next few days, and "there is no indication that this month's collections will be off target because we're one month behind, and so the first month impact will be next month" in April.

The state's two largest sources of general revenue are individual income taxes and sales and use taxes.

The state income tax filing and payment deadline for individuals was extended from April 15 to July 15 in sync with the federal government's extension.

Hutchinson said Monday that he met over the weekend with Walther and his budget team and "there will be a need to revise the [general] revenue forecast" for fiscal 2021.

"But the budget that we presented [for fiscal 2021] is based upon the Revenue Stabilization Act and that should work fine, even though the revenue forecast might be lowered as it will be to some extent," the governor said. The Revenue Stabilization Act prioritizes funding in categories so that lesser items are trimmed first when a shortfall occurs.

"So we haven't got those exact numbers. Secretary Walther will release that whenever he has that action," Hutchinson said, adding that it should happen before next seek's fiscal session starts. The session was expected to begin April 8.

On March 3, before the first confirmed case of coronavirus in Arkansas, Hutchinson proposed a $5.83 billion general revenue budget for fiscal 2021 based on a total general revenue forecast of $7.26 billion.

Information for this story was contributed by Rachel Herzog, Joe Flaherty and Eric Besson of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

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Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Gov. Asa Hutchinson provides an update on the coronavirus Monday during a news conference in Little Rock. More photos at arkansasonline.com/331governor/. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/ Staton Breidenthal)

A Section on 03/31/2020

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