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The state set new records multiple times this week for the number of coronavirus patients in hospitals and ICUs, as well as on ventilators, marking a new peak in the pandemic.
What were the new records set?
The state set a new record for hospitalizations due to coronavirus on Monday, hitting 1,376 — five more than the previous record, from January. Arkansas then broke Monday’s record on Tuesday, and broke Tuesday’s record on Wednesday for a new all-time high of 1,446.
Similarly, the number of virus patients on ventilators set records Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, when the figure hit 296.
The number of patients in intensive care units broke records on Monday and Wednesday, when the state saw a new high of 512.
On Monday, the state reported there were only eight ICU beds available in the state, and the number increased slightly on Tuesday to 12 and then to 14 on Wednesday.
What is the state doing to increase hospital capacity?
Last week, the Legislature's Joint Budget Committee approved spending $48.2 million in federal pandemic aid to open 200 additional hospital beds for covid-19 patients at Baptist Health properties in Little Rock, Fort Smith and Van Buren and at Unity Health-White County Medical Center in Searcy.
However, being able to staff the beds is a concern, and the two health systems are working to bring in additional staff as quickly as they can.
What else is being done to manage the surge?
Hutchinson announced that the state would be increasing the Medicaid reimbursement rate for physicians who administer covid-19 vaccines in an effort to get more people vaccinated. Only 27,000 of the 627,000 recipients of the traditional Medicaid program in the state who are 12 and older have been vaccinated.
Hutchinson said the state Department of Education will also increase the number of vaccine clinics at schools and will supply schools with "marketing tools" aimed at encouraging vaccinations.
School districts also now have the option to implement mask mandates, at least while a court case is in progress, and many have opted to require masks for students and staff (go here to see which ones).
The Arkansas Center for Health Improvement's health policy board on Tuesday recommended districts do just that, and also recommended districts ask the state for a waiver to delay the start of school.
The organization predicts the lack of vaccinations among students — those under 12 are not eligible and only one in five of eligible minors are fully vaccinated — will worsen the current surge.
Read more about the latest case numbers here, and read more on the state’s response to the pandemic, including advice from a federal advisory group, here.