The number of people in Arkansas hospitals with covid-19 -- at record levels since Tuesday -- fell Saturday as the state's count of cases rose by 908.
The death toll from the virus, as tracked by the state Department of Health, rose by 22, to 1,552.
"Our new cases continue to be far too high, but we are testing at a high level," Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in a tweet. "It's good to see a small decrease in hospitalizations. Continue to take this virus seriously. Wear a mask, keep your distance & enjoy your weekend."
State Epidemiologist Jennifer Dillaha agreed that the increase in cases, although lower than the number added each day on Thursday and Friday, was "still too high."
"I strongly want to encourage people to take whatever precautions they can to keep from spreading covid-19," she said. "I think people need to assume they could be infected and do whatever they can to keep from passing it on."
The increase in the state's case count Saturday included 788 that were confirmed through polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, tests. The other 120 were "probable" cases, which include those identified through less-sensitive antigen tests.
The number of covid-19 hospitalizations fell by six, to 554. Those patients included 98 who were on ventilators, down from 101 a day earlier. The number of people who have ever been hospitalized in the state with the virus rose by 39, to 5,900. The number who have ever been on a ventilator rose by six, to 730.
The state's count of deaths rose by 20, to 1,405, among confirmed cases and by two, to 147 among probable cases. The cumulative case count rose to 92,220. That comprised 87,748 confirmed cases and 4,472 probable ones.
Despite the different classifications, the Health Department has said that it treats confirmed and probable cases the same for the purposes of its contact-tracing efforts. That includes requiring people whose results are positive from either type of test to isolate and those they may have infected to quarantine.
After reaching a record level Friday, the number of confirmed or probable cases that were considered active continued climbing to a new high, 7,735. The increase of 267 active cases reflected the 908 cases added to the state's total, minus the 22 deaths and 619 Arkansans who were newly classified as having recovered.
Over a rolling seven-day period, the average number of confirmed and probable cases added to the state's tallies each day rose by 23, to 814.
CASES BY COUNTY
The count of cases Saturday rose by 107 in Pulaski County; 73 in Washington County; 66 in Sebastian County; and 59 in Craighead County.
Among prison and jail inmates, the number of cases rose by 18. Such increases can reflect new cases or ones that were added earlier but were not immediately classified as coming from a jail or prison. Cases among inmates are also sometimes added several days after a test is conducted, after information from laboratory reports is entered into a state database.
Arkansans age 25-44, who make up about 25% of the population, accounted for 29% of the statewide increase in cases. Infections among residents age 45-64, who represent another quarter of the state's population, were responsible for 27% of the increase.
Arkansans age 18-24, who make up about 10% of the population, accounted for about 11% of the increase. Residents age 65 or older accounted for 17% of the cases added to the state total, roughly equivalent to their share of the state population.
Children, meanwhile, continued to be less likely to have identified infections. They represent 23% of the state population but just 16% of the cases added Saturday.
Of the cases that were active in the state as of Thursday, 10 were among employees at Vacation Tour and Travel in Conway, according to a Health Department report.
Other workplaces listed as having at least five active cases among employees included OK Foods in Fort Smith and a Tyson Foods plant in Green Forest, which each had eight. A farm known as Dooley Agri in Colt, Hytrol Conveyor in Jonesboro, ConAgra in Russellville and a Tyson Plant in Pine Bluff were each listed as having six active cases.
LATEST DEATHS
The state's count of virus deaths rose Saturday by five in Sebastian County, four in Benton County, and two each in Boone, Crittenden, Faulkner and Pulaski counties. The death toll rose by one each in Carroll, Cross, Fulton, Jackson, Jefferson and Sharp counties. One death was subtracted from the total in Poinsett County, lowering its count of virus deaths to 14.
The death toll rose by one, to 41, among Arkansans age 35-44; by one, to 97, among those age 45-54; by two, to 223, among those age 55-64; and by 18, to 1,166, among those age 65 and older.
Among nursing home and assisted-living facility residents, the count of virus deaths rose by nine, to 550.
NURSING HOME TESTS
Since the pandemic arrived in Arkansas in March, about 13% of the state cases have been among residents age 65 or older, who have elevated risks of developing severe complications from the infection.
During the week that ended Friday, however, cases among older Arkansans made up 1,025, or about 19%, of the 5,533 cases that were added to the state's total. That translated to a rate of 202 cases per 100,000 residents in the 65 and older age group. Among all Arkansans, the rate was 184 cases per 100,000 residents.
The rate of cases per 100,000 residents was 109 among children; 249 for Arkansans age 18-24; 202 for those 25-44; and 197 for those 45-64.
A federal requirement that took effect last month for nursing homes to regularly test their employees has helped identify some of the cases.
The rule requires nursing homes to test their employees at least once a month and up to twice a week, depending on the percentage of PCR tests in the county that are positive.
When a staff member tests positive, the Health Department recommends testing all residents and other staff members "as quickly as possible," according to an Aug. 4 guidance document from the department.
From Aug. 28 to Thursday, the number of cases among residents of nursing home and assisted-living facilities increased by almost 60%, from 2,082 to 3,321, according to Health Department reports.
Over the same period, the number of cases among nursing home workers grew by almost 64%, from 1,396 to 2,288. By comparison, the state's count of confirmed and probable cases among all Arkansans grew by 51% during that time.
For nursing home residents and workers, more than a third of the new cases since Aug. 28 were added between Monday and Thursday, when the cases grew by 452 among residents and 323 among staff members, according to the reports.
That represented an increase of about 16% in the number of cases among both nursing home residents and staff members. Among all Arkansans, the number of cases grew by 3% over that period.
"We're seeing a lot more cases come up that we've identified through that routine testing," said Rachel Bunch, executive director of the Arkansas Health Care Association, which represents nursing homes.
"I would have to assume that in any setting right now, if you did that amount of testing you would find new cases," she added.
PLASMA NEEDED
Arkansas Blood Institute, in conjunction with its parent blood center Oklahoma Blood Institute, said Friday that it is in critical need of covid-19 convalescent plasma after seeing the largest single-day usage since the pandemic began.
Mario Sedlock, executive director of Arkansas Blood Institute, said the institutes sent 99 units of convalescent plasma to system hospitals Thursday.
He said he couldn't narrow it down by state, but mentioned that Arkansas averaged 40 units a day last week and has been climbing steadily.
"We have seen almost a 700% increase in demand from three months ago," Sedlock said. "Next week will probably be another 25% increase."
This usage mirrors the near-record number of covid-19-related hospitalizations in the state, according to a news release from the institute.
High convalescent plasma requests further strain an already-strained collection system that is struggling to meet growing patient demand.
Sedlock said that because of the volatility of the blood supply, the institute's inventory can last from one to five days before it again reaches a critical situation.
"We are probably living on days of supplies at any given moment," he said.
Increased demand is also because the Arkansas Blood Institute is helping hospitals outside of its normal coverage area, Sedlock said.
"In terms of this type of demand for plasma, I have never seen anything like it," he said. "This situation has been created thoroughly by the coronavirus because there is a limited amount of people that can donate, so it's not our general donor pool."
Sedlock said convalescent plasma can be collected from the blood of those who have tested positive for covid-19 after they have been medically cleared and symptom-free for 14 days. The blood donation process takes about an hour and half, and one donation can help up to three patients.
Information for this article was contributed by Stephen Simpson of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.