COVID deaths rise by 22; Gov. Hutchinson said some not being smart about group gatherings

With new COVID-19 cases rising higher and the state posting the most deaths in one day on Friday (Aug. 21), Gov. Asa Hutchinson issued somewhat of a scolding message, saying too many Arkansans are “not smart” about decisions made when gathering in groups.

Known COVID-19 cases in Arkansas totaled 55,652 on Friday, up from 54,765 on Thursday, with 6,396 test results from the previous 24 hours. Of the 887 new cases, 47 were from correctional facilities. There are 5,854 active cases.

The number of deaths rose from 641 to 663. Arkansas Secretary of Health Dr. Jose Romero said 11 of the deaths were from nursing homes, with 7 of those from a nursing home in Little River County.

“That’s certainly a sad day for many Arkansas families,” Gov. Hutchinson said during his daily COVID briefing.

The number of COVID patients hospitalized in Arkansas was 509 on Friday, up from 499 on Thursday. There are 120 patients on ventilators, up from 108 on Thursday. There are 49,138 cumulative recovered cases.

The top five counties with new known cases were: Pulaski (80), Washington (57), Benton (47), Sebastian (38), and Pope (33). The five counties accounted for 30.4% of the 840 new community cases.

As of Friday at 1 p.m., there were 5,595,361 U.S. cases and 174,647 deaths. Globally, there were 22,773,308 cases and 795,196 deaths.

‘NOT BEING DISCIPLINED’
Gov. Hutchinson said some of the rise in new cases, hospitalizations and deaths can be attributed to people gathering in groups – such as at church and swimming pools, according to Romero – without following health guidelines.

“But clearly, what we’re seeing is that we’ve had a number of clusters from group gatherings. They are not associated with schools. They are associated with other activities that go on in the routine of life. But that is not smart. That is not good. And that leads to cases and that leads to deaths,” the governor said.

When pressed numerous times if the jump in numbers gives him pause about opening schools on Monday (Aug. 24), Gov. Hutchinson said schools will open and he is confident state and local officials have processes in place to make the opening as safe as possible and able to adjust where necessary. He also pointed to the millions of dollars that have been and will be spent on providing broadband to support virtual education in rural areas.

Again, Gov. Hutchinson used the questioning to urge Arkansans to be more careful, noting that “we are not being disciplined in all of our activities every day” and that communities need to do more to support those who want to see schools and sports activities return to normal. He also said Friday’s numbers do not show a trend.

“One day doesn’t tell the story, so let’s continue to look at it,” he said.

Gov. Hutchinson also said state officials have completed the goal of testing all inmates in the state prison system. He said 14,650 inmates with 5,120 testing positive, which shows a 35% positivity rate. There have been 4,728 prison employees tested, with 378 testing positive. There are 1,381 test results pending.