Plan for venues highlights task of opening Arkansas; cases top 4,000

Deaths at 91

Ollie Dyson cleans a slot machine at Southland Gaming and Racing in West Memphis in this undated file photo.
Ollie Dyson cleans a slot machine at Southland Gaming and Racing in West Memphis in this undated file photo.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson last week unveiled plans to reopen venues amid the coronavirus pandemic, only to revise the upper limit on how many people will be allowed to enter.

On Thursday, the governor said casinos would be able to reopen on May 18 with one-third capacity after closing for two months. But two days later, he had updated the plan: indoor venues, which Hutchinson several days before had said could reopen with no more than 50 patrons starting on May 18, would be allowed to host one-third of their capacity, like the casinos.

The change -- made for the sake of "consistency" and announced during Hutchinson's covid-19 briefing over the weekend -- reflects the complicated task facing Arkansas officials as they try to gingerly reopen the state's economy, beginning in earnest this week.

Meanwhile, the total number of covid-19 cases in Arkansas passed 4,000 on Sunday, according to the Arkansas Department of Health's website tracking the outbreak.

Between Saturday night and Sunday night, the department added 28 cases to the total, bringing the cumulative case count to 4,012. One additional person died, raising the number of deaths in Arkansas since the start of the outbreak to 91.

The number of active cases of covid-19 in the state was 809 as of Sunday, according to the Department of Health, down slightly from 837 the day before.

LIMIT INCREASED

Under Hutchinson's original plan, casinos with the capacity for hundreds of guests would have been granted a much larger cap on the number of patrons compared with other venues such as movie theaters, bowling alleys, lecture halls, race tracks, auction houses and funeral homes.

But an effect of the new arrangement is that some venues previously limited to 50 people will soon be able to host 33% of their capacity, potentially accelerating the state's reopening and putting an end to the strict social distancing measures that kept people indoors during much of past month.

Gyms and fitness centers were allowed to reopen beginning May 4. Barbershops and salons accepted customers again starting on Wednesday. Today, restaurants and bars can resume limited dine-in operations for the first time since March, albeit at one-third capacity and with patrons wearing masks.

And starting on May 18, under the governor's revised plan, indoor and outdoor venues can host up to one-third of their capacity, too, so long as they receive approval from the Arkansas Department of Health.

Venues that plan to reopen with a capacity of 50 people or fewer do not need to submit written reopening plans to the Department of Health, Secretary Nate Smith said during the governor's briefing on Saturday.

When asked why the inconsistency on casinos versus other venues occurred in the first place, the governor's spokeswoman Katie Beck wrote, "Adjustments are made as needed."

The target date for resuming dental procedures, for example, was set at May 18 and then adjusted to today based on new information and industry standards, Beck explained in an email.

"After reviewing the directives, it made the most sense to apply the same occupancy limits to all indoor and outdoor venues with the requirement for specific safety plans to be approved by the Department of Health," she wrote.

Beck disputed the idea that the increased limit on guests means Arkansas is accelerating faster into a reopening of the economy. She said approvals will be based on the unique environment of each large venue.

"The 50-person limit is still operable for large venues unless specific and restrictive physical distancing protocols are met and approval is obtained by the Department of Health," Beck wrote.

HESITANCE ON CASINOS

A copy of text messages obtained by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette under state public-records law suggests that Hutchinson in March was reluctant to close casinos at all, but ultimately deferred to the judgment of his health secretary.

On March 16, five days after the first coronavirus case was confirmed in Arkansas, Hutchinson texted Smith: "How about a draft directive eliminating table games and requiring social distancing and temperature monitoring. Then we can go further if needed."

"From a public health standpoint I am still not comfortable with that and would like the opportunity to talk after I have called the Tennessee health commissioner," Smith replied.

"Louisiana has closed their casinos, and Mississippi is planning to this evening or tomorrow," Smith said. "I am concerned about their people coming here if we stay open."

The next day, Hutchinson ordered the three casinos in Arkansas -- located in Hot Springs, Pine Bluff and West Memphis -- to shut their doors.

Meg Mirivel, a spokeswoman for the Arkansas Department of Health, said Sunday that she expects two updated directives for the reopening of indoor and outdoor venues to be posted early this week.

She could not provide details on what venues will have to submit in writing to the Department of Health if they want to host more than 50 people, explaining that the directives are still being finalized.

Depending on the success of Hutchinson's phased reopening plan, Arkansas could see a jolt to an economy brutalized by the pandemic, with tens of thousands of residents applying for unemployment benefits and the national unemployment rate soaring to 14.7% in April.

[CORONAVIRUS: Click here for our complete coverage » arkansasonline.com/coronavirus]

But Arkansas could also experience localized spikes in coronavirus infections, leading to more hospitalizations and deaths -- something the governor has acknowledged as a possibility.

"Yes, I expect to see some spikes. ... It's just the nature of the virus," Hutchinson told reporters on May 4.

With the addition of contact tracing, officials can hopefully identify an area of coronavirus cases and control the outbreak, Hutchinson said. "Therefore, you don't interrupt the entire progress of reopening our economy, but you still do it in a very careful and safe way," he said.

A Section on 05/11/2020

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