Covid-19

Covid-19

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Arkansas hospital cases decline again; 18 more deaths
Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Andy DavisOctober 23, 2021

The numbers of covid-19 patients in Arkansas who were hospitalized and in intensive care continued falling Friday, reaching new three-month lows, as health care providers began administering vaccine booster shots to a wider group of people.

The number of the state’s virus patients who were on ventilators, however, rose slightly after falling the previous four days.

The state’s count of cases rose by 622, the 11th daily increase in a row that was smaller than the one a week earlier.

Arkansas’ death toll from the virus, as tracked by the Department of Health, rose by 18, to 8,255.

“We saw an increase going into the weekend with active cases going up slightly,” Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in a tweet.

“Our hospitalizations continue to fall, a positive sign for relief on our healthcare system. Please, get vaccinated as that is the best way we can continue to limit this virus.”

The number of covid-19 patients who were hospitalized in the state fell by 24, to 414, while the number who were in intensive care fell by five, to 175.

The last time either number had been that low was July 5.

The number of the state’s virus patients who were on ventilators rose by two, to 123, which was still less than a third of the all-time high the number reached in August.

Arkansas continues seeing declining COVID-19 cases, with active cases and hospitalizations dropping to levels not seen in months. But officials are expressing alarm at the growing number of cases involving children, many old enough to be vaccinated.

The Arkansas Department of Health on Wednesday reported active cases had declined by 217 people since Tuesday for a total of 7,879. Six additional deaths were included in the daily report, along with 882 new cases of people testing positive for the virus.

Hospitalizations decreased by 40, with 624 people being treated. 173 of those patients were on ventilators, a decrease of 15.

During a press conference Wednesday, Arkansas Health Secretary Dr. José Romero showed data comparing cases in January with cases in July. He said there was an 84.4% increase in pediatric hospitalizations and a 63.6% increase in Intensive Care Unit admissions as the delta variant spreads through the state.

Romero said even though the numbers didn’t reach statistically significant values, it shows more kids needing intensive care treatment. He is encouraging parents to allow kids who are old enough to get vaccinated.

“I want parents to understand that there is a vaccine available for those individuals ages 12-to-18,” he said. “That is the way to prevent this type of admission.”

Arkansas lawmakers OK opt-out for COVID vaccine mandates
KUAR, Associated PressOctober 6, 2021

Arkansas lawmakers gave final approval Wednesday to legislation requiring employers to let their workers opt out of getting the COVID-19 vaccine, a move opposed by the state’s Republican governor, business groups and hospitals.

But the bill approved by the majority-Republican Senate faces uncertainty on whether it’ll take effect immediately or early next year if it’s enacted.

The proposal is among several attempts to limit or prohibit vaccine requirements that have dominated the Legislature’s attention during a session that was supposed to focus on congressional redistricting. The proposals came primarily in response to President Joe Biden’s order that all employers with more than 100 workers require them to be vaccinated or test for the virus weekly.

The bill’s sponsor portrayed it as a way to protect people on the verge of losing their jobs because they refuse to get vaccinated.

“You want to take people that are willing to show up to work, you want to take people that have stuck with you through this entire mess called COVID, and now you want to put them out on the streets?” Republican Sen. Kim Hammer said. “I just don’t think that’s a mindset I’d want to support.”

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The latest data on COVID-19 cases in Arkansas saw declines in patients needing to be hospitalized due to the virus but also showed that pediatric cases continued to surge.

According to the figures from the Arkansas Department of Health, hospitalizations fell for the third straight day, going down by 45 to 1,149 patients admitted due to COVID-19.

The number of patients needing ICU care dropped by 32 to 476, while one new patient went on a ventilator, moving that number to 316 in the state.

The ADH reported 2,159 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, moving the active case count up slightly to 19,742 and pushing the pandemic total to 472,136.

Breaking down the data, the two age groups seeing the highest increase in cases were both in the pediatric range, with 483 new cases in patients aged 10 and under and 341 new cases in patients from 11 to 17. Over the last seven days, there have been a combined 3,622 new cases in those age groups.

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