3:20 P.M. UPDATE: Two more deaths due to coronavirus were reported by Gov. Asa Hutchinson at a news conference Tuesday where he also issued executive orders intended to support first responders and health care workers.
The new deaths bring the toll statewide to 32. The number of total cases Tuesday rose to 1,498, including 1,024 active cases in which a patient is still sick, as opposed to recovered or deceased.
Smith said 81 patients are hospitalized, including 29 on ventilators.
The first executive order Hutchinson announced allows first responders and frontline health care workers to receive workers’ compensation if they contract covid-19 while on the job.
The second order grants medical emergency responders immunity from legal liability for actions taken during the covid-19 emergency. Hutchinson said the order is intended to allow those health care workers to do what they believe is necessary during emergency situations without fear of being sued.
Health Department Secretary Nate Smith said no new cases were reported Tuesday at the Cummins Unit state prison, where 43 inmates have tested positive so far.
No new cases have been reported at the federal prison in Forrest City either, Smith said, where 46 inmates, eight staff and one contractor have tested positive.
Additional inmates at the Central Arkansas Community Correction Center in Little Rock have tested positive, bringing the total there to 17 inmates plus 27 staff.
Nursing home residents account for 93 of the 1,498 total cases, and 28 such facilities have at least one staff member or resident who has tested positive.
A total of 206 health care workers have tested positive for the virus, including 65 who have recovered.
1:40 P.M. UPDATE: The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Arkansas has risen to 1,498 by Tuesday afternoon, up 88 from yesterday, according to Gov. Asa Hutchinson. Of the cases, 1,024 are active covid-19 cases.
The number of current hospitalizations has increased by 7, reaching 81 in the state.
Two more people in the state have died, bringing the death toll to 32, Hutchinson said.
[Don't see the video above, click here.]
EARLIER: The number of confirmed coronavirus cases has risen to 1,480 up five from the previous day's reported total, according to the state Department of Health on Tuesday.
Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson and Dr. Nathaniel Smith, secretary of the Arkansas Department of Health, will provide an update on Arkansas’ covid-19 response at 1:30 p.m.
Check back to watch the live video.