The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Arkansas topped 1,000 Wednesday as evidence of the pandemic's economic fallout in the state continued to emerge.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson said 110,000 Arkansans have filed unemployment claims since mid-March, and the number is likely to reach 150,000 by the end of this week.
At his daily news conference on the state's response to the pandemic, Hutchinson also expressed frustration that federal officials have not yet approved the state's request for a waiver allowing it to spend $116 million in Medicaid funds to provide relief to nursing-home workers, doctors, hospitals and others.
"They have not granted that waiver, which is disappointing to me," Hutchinson said.
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He said he had spoken to federal officials, who are still reviewing the request.
"We'll wait and see where that goes, but this is something I believe is very important, and I hope that, one, that waiver is granted," Hutchinson said. "If that waiver is not granted, we're going to look for other ways to see if we can be helpful to meet those needs."
So far, 18 Arkansans have died from the coronavirus since the first case was reported in the state on March 11. State officials did not report any new deaths Wednesday.
From Tuesday evening to Wednesday afternoon, the number of cases increased by 80, to 1,077, topping 200 in Pulaski County and including at least 76 people who were hospitalized.
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UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIMS
The surge in unemployment has followed efforts to slow the spread of the virus, including the state-ordered closure of fitness clubs, hair salons, movie theaters and other indoor entertainment venues, and a state order limiting restaurants to takeout and delivery. In addition, many businesses cut back hours or closed.
Michael Pakko, chief economist at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock's Arkansas Economic Development Institute, said the jobless claims announced by Hutchinson are "pretty big numbers for sure," and higher than he would have predicted a couple of weeks ago.
But he said the numbers are in line with his most recent forecast, issued Wednesday, which predicts that the state's unemployment rate will rise to 9.2% by the end of the year. That's a revision of his forecast last month that showed it reaching 8.7%.
The state's unemployment rate was 3.5% in February.
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"I think these job loss figures are supporting the kind of real recessionary outlook that's in the forecast right now," Pakko said.
BENEFIT NOT READY
Under the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act passed by Congress last month, unemployment checks include an extra $600 a week from the federal government.
Arkansas Commerce Secretary Mike Preston said the state must create a new system to process claims by self-employed people and independent contractors, who became eligible for benefits under the law through the end of the year.
The system should be ready in about three weeks. Once claims are processed, the benefits will be provided retroactively to the date of unemployment or inability to work.
To avoid tying up the Division of Workforce Services' phone lines, he asked applicants to wait until the system is ready to inquire about those benefits.
"Hang with us," he said. "I know it's going to be a challenging couple of weeks."
BUSINESS LOANS
Preston said 138 no-interest loans have been issued to small businesses using money from Hutchinson's quick action closing fund and lawsuit proceeds contributed by Attorney General Leslie Rutledge.
Hutchinson used $4 million from his fund to start the program, which also guarantees 80% of loans made by banks, and Rutledge contributed $3 million.
The governor said Wednesday that he would add another $1 million from the quick-action closing fund toward the effort.
The loans are meant to allow businesses to continue to pay their employees until they can apply for help under a program established by the federal relief measure.
"Our hope and goal on this is to make sure that we don't send more people to have to go to unemployment," Preston said.
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WAIVER PENDING
The Medicaid waiver program is designed to complement the relief that health care providers will receive under the federal measure, said Dennis Smith, the state Department of Human Services' senior adviser for Medicaid and health care reform.
Among other things, it would provide $55 million in federal funds that would be used to supplement the salaries of workers who care for the elderly and disabled in long-term-care facilities or provide home-based care.
An additional $31 million in federal funds would go to small hospitals and clinics to be used for capital improvements, such as establishing drive-thru testing sites.
The state's match, $25 million, would come from state funds freed up when the federal matching rate for the Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program was increased by 6.2% under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
"We wanted to do something that was targeted, and wanted to help jump-start things to where providers could keep their doors open and keep serving clients," Smith said in an interview last month.
The state submitted its application March 26. The Human Services Department hadn't received a response to the application as of Wednesday, spokesman Amy Webb said.
The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services didn't respond to a request by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for comment.
RECOVERIES INCREASE
The cases reported since Tuesday evening included the first one in Madison County, making it the 69th of the state's 75 counties where a resident has tested positive for the virus.
In Pulaski County, the number of cases increased by 22, to 201.
According to a state website displaying Health Department data, seven of the people who have died were from Pulaski County and four were from Cleburne County.
Conway, Crittenden, Faulkner, Jefferson, Lawrence, Saline and Van Buren counties were each home to one resident who died of the virus, according to the site.
State Health Secretary Nate Smith has previously said the deaths include four nursing-home residents.
Two lived at Briarwood Nursing and Rehabilitation in Little Rock; one lived at Walnut Ridge Nursing and Rehabilitation, which is in Lawrence County; and one lived at Willowbend Healthcare and Rehabilitation, which is in Marion in Crittenden County.
Seven nursing-home residents and three staff members were also among those who tested positive recently.
That included five residents and one worker at the Waters of White Hall, bringing the number of residents at the nursing home who have tested positive to 14, and the number of workers with positive tests to 13.
Willowbend had one more resident and one more staff member test positive, raising the number of residents there who have tested positive to 11 and the number of staff members to three.
Another resident at Walnut Ridge, where two staff members were diagnosed earlier, was also among those recently testing positive.
At The Lakes at Maumelle Healthcare and Rehabilitation, where two residents have tested positive, the number of confirmed cases among workers increased from three to four.
Ten other health care workers also tested positive, raising the total number of such workers who have been diagnosed to 147, Smith said.
The number of nurses who have tested positive increased by six, to 47, and the number of nurse assistants who have been diagnosed increased by three, to 22.
The number of people hospitalized with covid-19 as of Wednesday afternoon had increased by seven from Tuesday afternoon, and the number on ventilators had increased by four, to 30.
The cases increased by seven, to 85, in Jefferson County; by three, to 70, in Cleburne County; and by four, to 65 in Crittenden County.
Smith called it a good sign that the number of people listed as having recovered was approaching the number testing positive each day.
People are considered to have recovered if at least a week has passed since they fell ill and they haven't had a fever for at least three days.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the number of cases had increased by 77 compared with Tuesday afternoon, while the number of people listed as having recovered had increased by 56.
By the evening, the number of recoveries had reached 237, an increase of 48 from the previous evening.
7 UAMS EMPLOYEES
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Chancellor Cam Patterson told UA System trustees Wednesday that no UAMS employees have contracted the virus via spread within the hospital, but seven have gotten it through contact elsewhere.
"So as of today, we've had zero covid transmissions within the UAMS Medical Center, which is remarkable," Patterson said.
Nearly 400 UAMS employees have had to quarantine.
UAMS spokesman Leslie Taylor said that could happen, for instance, when an employee has contact with someone who later tests positive or if an employee develops symptoms and is awaiting testing.
Patterson said 234 of the employees have returned to work and 131 remain quarantined.
A UAMS food pantry delivers food to those in quarantine, and the hospital has employed various tactics to reduce the stress of all employees, such as holding mindfulness sessions.
Of the covid-19 patients that UAMS Medical Center has treated, 22 were hospitalized and 91 didn't require hospitalization.
Two of the hospitalized patients have died.
An additional 37 hospital patients, along with more than 1,000 tested in an outpatient setting, tested negative.
In addition to those who have been tested, the hospital has screened thousands of others through its drive-thru and help lines.
A van converted into a mobile testing unit made its first trip, to Helena-West Helena, last week and will be in Texarkana today, Taylor said.
Patterson said UAMS researchers have begun research projects on covid-19, including one that examines genome variations that may influence transmission and lethality of the virus.
UAMS stands to lose $5.7 million this fiscal year because of state budget reductions but intends to seek a restoration of that money through the rainy-day funds approved by lawmakers for covid-19 use, he said.
He said the hospital has purchased 84 million pieces of medical gear, mostly from China.
Taylor said gear began arriving late last week and is being distributed across the state.
"We're hoping, and we have a supply chain team that's working miracles, but it's arriving a shipment at a time," she said.
The virus emerged late last year in Wuhan, China, and spreads through respiratory droplets emitted when people sneeze, cough or talk. Studies have indicated that the virus can live for days on surfaces.
Symptoms include fever, cough and shortness of breath. The elderly and people with chronic health conditions are considered most at risk of severe illness, including pneumonia.
A Section on 04/09/2020