Deaths increase by 23; governor limits his activities, tests negative again
Arkansas' number of coronavirus cases rose by 1,155 Wednesday -- the largest jump so far this week and one that exceeded the daily increase the previous Wednesday.
The state death toll from the virus, as tracked by the state Department of Health rose by 23, to 1,751.
Meanwhile, Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who attended a meeting Friday with someone who later tested positive, tested negative again for the virus Wednesday, a spokeswoman said.
"Governor Hutchinson received two negative COVID-19 test results today, a negative antigen test this morning and a negative [polymerase chain reaction] test this evening," spokeswoman Katie Beck said in an email.
Hutchinson said Tuesday that he was not required to quarantine because he wasn't within 6 feet of the person who tested positive but still would limit his activities out of an "abundance of caution."
"The Governor will continue holding virtual meetings and limiting public appearances this week out of concern for the comfort level of others," Beck wrote.
Hutchinson said Tuesday that he also tested negative for the virus on Monday. Health Secretary Jose Romero has said Hutchinson will be offered tests again Friday and Monday.
In a news release on the day's virus numbers, Hutchinson urged Arkansans to "be careful of the social gatherings and remind each other that wearing a mask protects those around us."
"We are testing at record levels, and we continue to see a high number of new cases across Arkansas," Hutchinson said.
"Compared to last Wednesday, we are plus 76 cases. Today we have 14 counties with more than 20 cases, once again highlighting the fact that this virus is not contained to one part of the state."
Beck said the 3,438 tests performed Tuesday by the Health Department's public health laboratory set a one-day record for the lab.
State Epidemiologist Jennifer Dillaha called the increase in cases "very distressing."
"I think people are letting their guards down," she said. "They're not practicing social distancing and wearing masks, and they are not avoiding large groups of people, and it shows."
The state's count of cases confirmed through polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, tests rose by 981, to 95,399.
Its tally of "probable" cases, which include those identified through less-sensitive antigen tests, rose by 174, to 6,197.
After reaching record levels on Monday and Tuesday, the number of people hospitalized with covid-19 fell Wednesday by one, to 636, even as 98 patients with the virus were newly admitted to hospitals.
Similarly, the number of patients who were on ventilators fell by two, to 99, despite 14 patients who were placed on the breathing machines for the first time.
The number of Arkansans who have ever been hospitalized with covid-19 rose to 6,526, while the number who have ever been on ventilators rose to 796.
The state's cumulative count of confirmed and probable cases rose to 101,596.
The number of those cases considered active rose by 98, to 8,520, as 1,034 Arkansans were newly classified as having recovered.
That remained below the state's peak of 8,904 active cases as of Sunday.
Despite the different classifications, the Health Department has said 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 themselves and for those they may have infected to quarantine.
At a virtual town-hall event, hosted by the American Democracy Project, at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, Hutchinson was asked how the escalating covid-19 numbers and deaths in the state have affected him personally.
"This last weekend, I called the spouse of a teacher, and the teacher had died and had died of covid. And that's a tough call to make to the family member," Hutchinson responded.
"But I have to make those, just like I make the call to the family of a law enforcement officer that gets killed in the line of duty. So these are not easy things to do."
He said he felt "a lot of pressure" to have only virtual classes at public schools.
Instead, he has said he expects school buildings to be open to students every day when classes are held.
"I knew that for many students, you really had to have in-classroom instruction as an option," Hutchinson said.
"And so we insisted upon that. Did that put teachers at risk? Certainly, it emphasized that, you know, they've got to protect themselves, and there's an enhanced risk. And those were tough decisions that I made."
He said his faith helps him manage the difficulties and that physical exercise also helps keep him mentally prepared.
About the pandemic, Hutchinson said that "for a while, this was an urban phenomenon."
"Well, that's changed," he said. "And even though the volume of cases is not that high, the percent of cases and the per capita is very significant in our rural communities."
He stressed the importance of wearing masks and social distancing, as well as having good hygiene.
With holidays approaching, he said it's important to take precautions for any family or group get-togethers.
He said the virus is spreading less from workplaces and schools than from home and social gatherings.
This "doesn't mean to stop being social and stop seeing family," Hutchinson said.
"I've got grandkids," he said. "I see them, but we are careful. And so our hugs are quick. We wear a mask when we're -- when we should, and we sort of navigate where we have a little bit more distance. And so there's a carefulness even among the family that I think is important."
He said cases are going up "all across the country."
Medical professionals expect a "tough winter," he said, adding that Arkansans should get flu shots, as he has done.
"If you look at the trend line over the last four weeks, it's been fairly consistent in our growth in cases," he said.
"We have not skyrocketed. We have not gone down. It has been fairly consistent, which tells me we're doing some good in controlling the spread, but that the cases are still too high, and there's a lot of virus that's out there that we have to guard against."
CAUTION URGED
Dillaha said the virus continues to spread at sporting events, places of worship and gatherings such as parties, weddings, funerals "where people come together for social reasons, and they are not adhering to the recommendations to maintain a distance and wear a face covering."
"We've heard anecdotal stories of lots of people out in some of our resort towns in Arkansas, in the community, not wearing face coverings, crowded sidewalks," she said.
"It's concerning to me that we have this level of spread when the weather is good. I'm worried about what's going to happen when the weather is bad, and people are doing things indoors where there will be even more spread."
Dillaha said the Health Department presented Hutchinson with a list of options for curbing the spread of the virus that included limiting social gatherings to 10 or fewer people.
A similar restriction was in place earlier in the pandemic, when the daily increases in the state's virus cases were much smaller.
The limit has since been expanded to allow larger events as long as less than 66% of the venue's capacity is occupied.
Events with more than 100 people must also have a plan approved by the Health Department.
While Hutchinson hasn't imposed new limits on gatherings, Dillaha said she would still recommend that people avoid gatherings, as well as avoid unnecessary trips to the store.
"I would encourage them to be very thoughtful about the places that they go where there could be groups of people that would expose them, because right now the risk for exposure for people being out and about is much higher than it was just a month or two ago."
REVISED GUIDANCE
Dillaha also said that a change Wednesday in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's guidance for contact tracing won't affect the Health Department's efforts.
According to a report in The Washington Post, the CDC changed its definition of a "close contact" who is required to quarantine because of exposure to someone with the virus.
Previously, the CDC had defined a "close contact" as someone who had been within 6 feet of an infected person while the person was infectious for 15 consecutive minutes.
The new guidance defines a close contact as someone who was within 6 feet of the infected person for a total of 15 minutes over a 24-hour period, regardless of whether the minutes were consecutive or spaced out over that period.
Dillaha said the CDC's previous guidance was ambiguous, so the Health Department had already been using the standard of 15 total, rather than consecutive, minutes.
"We felt that was the most reasonable approach for us here in Arkansas," she said.
She added that someone can be a "close contact" of an infected person even if they were near the person for fewer than 15 minutes.
For instance, the CDC's definition on its website includes people who provided care at home to someone sick with covid-19; someone who hugged or kissed an infected person; a person who shared eating utensils with an infected person; and a person who was coughed or sneezed on by someone with covid-19.
