Arkansas' downward trend in new coronavirus cases resumed on Tuesday as Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced new options for public school students and employees to avoid having to quarantine after being near an infected person.
At his weekly news conference at the state Capitol, Hutchinson also said he had allowed his public health emergency declaration to expire a day earlier because he "did not need any additional powers to act during this time of the pandemic."
Under Act 403, signed by the governor in March, extending the emergency beyond Monday would have required Hutchinson to submit a request to the Legislative Council at least 10 days beforehand.
The council, which meets when the Legislature is not in session, could have then allowed the declaration to be extended or rejected the request.
The expiration of the emergency caused the reinstatement of rules that the Department of Health had suspended to speed the licensure of health care workers.
"I need to emphasize that we are still in a pandemic," Hutchinson said Tuesday.
"We still have 20-plus people dying every day because of covid, and so just because the technical emergency was not extended does not mean we’re not still in a very serious situation with the pandemic and the actions that we need to take.
"I just do not need to utilize any emergency powers, and so I didn’t ask for an extension of that."
The state's count of coronavirus cases rose Tuesday by 800, an increase that was smaller by just over 600 than the one the previous Tuesday.
The number of people hospitalized in the state with covid-19 fell by 26, to 809, its lowest level since July 19.
After rising the previous two days, the number of the state's virus patients who were on ventilators fell by nine, to 225, its lowest level since July 31.
The state's death toll from the virus, as tracked by the Health Department, rose by 21, to 7,651.
Generally, the Health Department requires people who are within six feet of a person with covid-19 for 15 minutes or longer within a 24-hour period to quarantine for up to 14 days.
State Department of Education guidelines for school districts exempt people who are vaccinated from having to quarantine unless they develop symptoms.
Students and employees also aren't required to quarantine if both they and the infected person were wearing masks.
One of the options Hutchinson announced Tuesday would also allow students to avoid quarantine if they wear a mask and submit to rapid coronavirus tests that come back negative after the exposure.
The other option would allow schools to avoid quarantines altogether if at least 70% of the staff and students are fully vaccinated.
The Health Department is still working on details of the new protocols, spokeswoman Katie White said.
At the news conference, Hutchinson, Arkansas first lady Susan Hutchinson and state Health Secretary Jose Romero received booster shots of the Pfizer vaccine.
The CDC last week recommended the boosters for people who received their second doses at least six months ago and are 65 or older, residents of long-term care facilities or people age 50-64 with medical conditions putting them at an elevated risk of severe covid-19 illness.
Younger adults with such health conditions and people at increased risk of catching the virus because of their jobs or because they live in institutional settings can also get boosters “based on their individual benefits and risks,” according to the agency.
EARLIER:
Gov. Asa Hutchinson will provide his weekly media update at 1:30 p.m.
Hutchinson will discuss the coronavirus pandemic in Arkansas, as well as other "topics of the day," according to a news release by the governor's office.
Check back to watch the live video.
[Video not showing up above? Click here to view » https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iz7lsAS0WUE]