Five charts to explain coronavirus deaths in Arkansas during 2020

Arkansas coronavirus deaths in 2020.
Arkansas coronavirus deaths in 2020.

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Although it hasn’t yet been 12 months since the first case of covid-19 was found in Arkansas, the first calendar year during the pandemic, 2020, has ended.

As of Dec. 31, the Arkansas Department of Health reported 3,676 Arkansans had died of covid-19. The figure includes confirmed deaths and probable deaths (read our guide to coronavirus terminology to review the difference).

The charts below explore the coronavirus death toll through the end of 2020 by comparing deaths per county, deaths in each month, the number of covid-19 deaths versus other leading causes of death and more.

Coronavirus claimed the lives of 3,676 Arkansans in 2020. The first deaths, two of them, were reported March 24. The first case of covid-19 had been reported March 11.

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The county which experienced the highest number of coronavirus deaths was also the state’s most populous: Pulaski County with 390 deaths in 2020.

The county which experienced the fewest coronavirus deaths in 2020 was the state’s least populous: Calhoun County, with just one covid-19 death.

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Looking at the number of coronavirus deaths in each county per capita paints a different picture of which were hardest hit by the virus.

According to data from the Arkansas Division of Workforce Services, Little River County and Newton County have relatively small populations, around 12,400 and 7,850, respectively, but they tied for the greatest number of covid-19 deaths per capita: 3.1 per 1,000 residents.

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Arkansas saw 1,174 people die of coronavirus in December, making the month by far the most deadly of 2020 as far as the virus.

The number who died in December is more than the number who died in October and November combined, 1,133.

The number who died in December is also far more than the number who died in the first six months of the pandemic combined, 797.

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Data is not yet available for leading causes of death in 2020. However, using data for 2019 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, covid-19 deaths from 2020 would rank as the third greatest cause of death.

Another factor to consider in this analysis is that the other leading causes of death occurred across all 12 months of the year. Coronavirus deaths occurred in only nine months plus the end of March in 2020.

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