Arkansas' positivity rate for tests for covid-19 in the past seven days reached a record high of 23.8% Monday, while the number of active cases was the highest -- at 27,162 -- since levels reached a year ago.
Hospitalizations because of covid-19 reached 722 Monday, the highest seen since Sept. 30, when the number of patients was 727.
Monday's number of patients in intensive care increased by 24 to 246, the state Department of Health said in a news release.
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"We expect record-high new cases this week, so while we continue to work and live, get fully vaccinated and protect yourself and your community," Gov. Asa Hutchinson said.
Another 1,750 new cases were added Monday, marking the seventh day of four-digit daily increases in new covid-19 cases. The state has seen a total of 574,572 cases since the pandemic began in March 2020.
Dr. Jennifer Dillaha, the Health Department's chief medical officer, said omicron is now the dominant variant strain in the state, but did not estimate how many cases were based on omicron.
"Sequencing specimens to determine the variant is something we do to document the presence of different variants in Arkansas," Dillaha said. "The current number of sequences along with other epidemiologic data have demonstrated that the omicron variant is the dominant variant in our state. All of this is to say that we do not use these sequences to count the number of cases in the state but rather we use the sequence to demonstrate the presence of different variants."
The current case numbers illustrate the rapid spread of the omicron variant in the state and it will only get worse, Dillaha said.
"We will see a rapidly increasing number of cases and hospitalizations in our state," she said.
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HOSPITALIZATIONS
Daily hospitalizations have nearly doubled from 409 on Dec. 1 to 722 on Monday and have not declined since Christmas, when hospitalizations fell by 24, from 491 to 467.
However, hospitalizations are much lower than they were the same day last year, when 1,234 covid-19 patients were hospitalized -- but that was before the vaccine became widely available. The first patient was vaccinated in December 2020.
In Jonesboro, St. Bernards Medical Center spokesman Mitchell Nail said the hospital is now caring for 71 covid-19 patients, with 14 of those in the intensive care unit and eight on ventilators. Many of the hospital system's smaller partner facilities are caring for covid-positive patients in an effort to keep those individuals closer to home and out of the hospital.
"Their efforts have also alleviated capacity that may have fallen on our shoulders, and we're grateful for that help," Nail said. "We've seen rapid increases, and they've kept our Emergency Department especially busy during the holidays. To put it in perspective, our number of patients with covid held steady throughout December until we reached Christmas. Since then, that number has jumped nearly 40%."
St. Bernards is handling the heavy patient volume amid a high number of employees out with the virus and others getting tested for community exposure, Nail said.
"Still, we've faced these staffing challenges before, and we're confident we can meet them again," Nail said.
Baptist Health Medical Center-Little Rock is continuing to see record numbers of people at its drive-thru covid-19 testing site, spokeswoman Cara Wade said in an email. Friday, they tested 1,325 people and by early Monday afternoon, they had already tested 1,025.
"Before last week, 500 was our largest day at this site," Wade said. "The demand for testing is causing long wait times and we very much appreciate people's patience as we do our best to accommodate the lines."
In the past seven days, 77,848 tests have been administered in the state -- 32,063 more than reported for the previous week.
Baptist Health is also seeing more people coming to the emergency departments for covid-19 testing, which Wade said is not an appropriate use of emergency services.
"While we understand that covid-19 tests are hard to find, we ask that people please keep the [emergency departments] available for those who feel severely sick or have an immediate emergency," Wade said. "If you recently came into contact with someone with covid-19 and have little to no symptoms, keep isolated from others to avoid possible spread and monitor the symptoms."
The surge in cases is highlighting the already existing problem of nursing shortages, but the staff are holding their own, Wade said.
"We are not seeing any new staffing challenges that we haven't already experienced during the pandemic," she said. "We are so proud of our health care workers who keep showing up day after day caring for some of the sickest patients in the state. A way you can help is to continue to remember to thank your health care workers and first responders for their sacrifices and hard work. And, to help stop the spread of covid, please consider getting vaccinated and utilizing masks."
Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System spokesman Christopher Durney said Monday that a "troubling trend upward" in active cases prompted the hospital system to change its visitation policy.
Entry to the facilities will be limited to veterans with scheduled appointments, procedures or other essential business that cannot take place by any other means. Only one caregiver over the age of 18 will be allowed to accompany the patient. Inpatients will only be allowed one visitor over the age of 18 in the facility at a time with the exception of the palliative care unit which will be limited to two visitors at a time.
"The Omicron variant is, of course, making its way through all areas of our state, including some of our staff. We are actively monitoring all cases, testing as needed, and seeing that our staff and veterans are safe," Durney said. "Omicron does not appear to be as severe as [the] delta [variant] and symptoms are mild. We are in line with all CDC recommendations for isolation and quarantining."
PEDIATRIC NUMBERS
On Monday, the state had 4,235 active cases among patients from newborn to 18 years old.
"We are seeing an upwards trajectory and are concerned by the rapid increase," Arkansas Children's Hospital spokeswoman Hilary DeMillo said. "Our summer surge with delta variant reached 31 admitted patients. Where it took a couple of weeks to reach those numbers in the summer, we are seeing the transmission rate impact this more quickly, going from 5 to 16 in just a few days this wave."
About half of the admitted covid-19 patients are vaccine eligible, meaning over the age of 5, but none have been partially immunized and only one has been fully immunized, DeMillo said.
While the ages of covid-19 patients have varied at St. Bernards, Nail said they've had pediatric patients with the virus and, most recently, several babies were born at the hospital to covid-positive mothers.
"I should note that we test every admitted patient for the virus, so the possibility exists that someone is hospitalized for another reason while being covid positive," Nail said. "We often see this situation with birthing mothers."
On Monday, a pediatricians group issued a news release advocating the use of masks and vaccines:
"As COVID-19 cases surge to record numbers in the state, pediatrician members of the Arkansas Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics ... are reiterating their strong recommendation that schools and child care facilities implement school-wide mask policies for staff and students older than 2 years of age, in alignment with guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics, to help keep children and staff in school. Pediatricians also recommend all eligible staff and children receive COVID-19 vaccines, which reduce infections, hospitalizations, and death from the virus. Currently, children age 5 and above are eligible for COVID-19 vaccines, with some exceptions," the release said.
SCHOOL CASES
In the first report of its kind since Dec. 20, the Health Department on Monday reported 1,410 active cases of covid-19 among Arkansas public school district students and employees, 51 cases in private elementary and secondary schools, and 195 cases among college students and faculty.
The Monday report showed an increase of 158 cases of the virus in public schools since Dec. 20, when there were 1,262 cases on what was the first day of a vacation of two or more weeks for many school districts.
The Little Rock School District -- the state's second-largest school system -- topped the Monday list with 154 active cases. That's before classes resume for students on Wednesday. The Little Rock district reported 36 active cases on Dec. 20.
The Little Rock district was followed by the Cabot and Marion school districts, each with 57 active cases on Monday. The Nettleton district in Jonesboro had 49 cases, the North Little Rock district had 48 cases and the Jonesboro district had 38 cases.
The Rogers School District in northwest Arkansas also had 38 cases; the Springdale School District, 35 cases, and the Pulaski County Special district, 32 cases.
In all, 66 of the state's 261 districts -- including charter school systems -- had five or more cases of covid-19 among students and employees. The state does not individually identify school districts with fewer than five active cases to protect patient privacy but the case numbers for those districts are included in the totals.
The cumulative total of covid -19 cases since Aug. 1 in the state's public elementary and secondary schools was 32,273 as of Monday.
Private schools identified by the Health Department as having five or more active cases were St. Vincent De Paul Catholic School in Rogers, 6, Little Rock Christian Academy, 5, and Pulaski Academy in Little Rock, 5.
HIGHER EDUCATION
Active coronavirus cases among staff members reached a new high for the 2021-22 academic year at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, according to a Monday update published online.
Twenty active cases among UA staff topped the previous high of 16 active cases recorded in mid-August, according to the university.
"That does surprise me. Day one, there are already that many cases when I'm hearing there's so many off campus," said Trish Watkins, chairwoman of the university's staff senate.
UA's offices reopened Monday after being closed the previous week because of the winter holiday.
But Watkins said many workers don't return to campus until classes begin at Fayetteville Public Schools. Children are set to return to school in Fayetteville on Thursday, according to the district's website.
"It really makes you wonder who's at home not even reporting [covid-19]?" Watkins said.
In total, UA reported 43 active cases of covid-19, which includes the 20 staff cases and 21 student cases, as well as one graduate assistant and one faculty member. Most students are away from campus, with spring semester classes at UA set to start Jan. 18.
The university's previous covid-19 case update, published Dec. 20, listed 11 active cases and zero among UA staffers.
The update published Monday also noted that out of 62 tests conducted on the UA campus from Dec. 27 through Jan. 2, there were 13 positive results for a positivity rate of 21%, a higher positivity rate than any other week since the pandemic began, according to UA data, though comparisons may be skewed because far fewer tests were done over the holiday than when classes were in session. Employees and students are also required to self-report positive results from covid-19 testing done off campus.
"The policy for the university is, if you're sick, stay home. Hopefully that's what everybody will do, and they will get tested if they think they have it at all," Watkins said.
Mark Rushing, a UA spokesman, said in an email the campus "at this time" is "staying the course" with its opening as planned.
Masking is required inside classrooms and other indoor facilities like general purpose buildings when physical distancing isn't possible, Rushing said.
Rushing said UA strongly encourages covid-19 vaccination and booster shots.
The Health Department reported the following covid cases: Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, 24: University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 17; University of Central Arkansas, 11; Arkansas Tech University, 10; Lyon College, 7; University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture in Little Rock, 6; and University of Arkansas Pulaski Technical College in North Little Rock, 5.
LITTLE ROCK SCHOOLS
Little Rock Superintendent Mike Poore, in a nearly eight-minute video and accompanying memo on Monday, talked about covid-19's fast spreading omicron variant and the district's ongoing efforts to limit the spread in schools.
"I recognize that the surge from the newest variant is causing fear and unease," Poore said in the memo. "Please know we are listening to the advice of public health experts in our community and will follow their guidance."
Poore said the district's efforts include the distribution of more efficient filtration face masks that offer a higher level of protection than paper masks, although paper masks combined with cloth masks are still useful, he said. Mask-wearing is required of staff and students in district schools -- at least until the School Board reviews the policy at its Jan. 27 meeting.
Poore also noted that every classroom and media center has an air purifier and that an estimated 90% of district employees have received two doses of vaccine. He said district officials are unsure on the percentages of students who have been vaccinated or staff who have received booster shots. He urged students and employees to become up to date on those shots.
The superintendent said that a transition to virtual instruction is a possibility. He urged students and employees to take their computing devices home with them daily and have a plan for accommodating remote instruction if necessary.
BY THE NUMBERS
The state's death toll from the virus, as tracked by the Health Department, rose by 25 to 9,221.
The number of virus patients who were on ventilators rose by 17 to 115.
VACCINATIONS
The number of vaccine doses that providers reported having administered rose by 1,243 to 3,713,854.
The number of individuals fully immunized increased by 263, to a total of 1,507,966, or 53%, of Arkansans 5 years old and up. The number of Arkansans partially immunized against the virus increased by 155, to 355,716, or 12.5%, of the population 5 years old and up.
As of Monday, 440,866 third vaccine doses had been administered.
"We are very concerned about the current rate of booster vaccination," Dillaha said. "With the omicron variant, booster vaccinations are very important for preventing symptomatic infections and we have a long way to go in Arkansas to get everyone vaccinated and boosted."
COUNTY CASES
Health Department data indicates that Pulaski County had the largest increase in cases reported Monday, with the count rising by 333.
The next-highest increase was Craighead County, with 219 followed by Saline County, with 79.