FAYETTEVILLE -- At least 72 Benton and Washington county residents have died of covid-19, including a resident at a Rogers nursing home with 42 cases of the virus, according to the county coroners.
The deaths include 40 Springdale residents, 17 Rogers residents, seven Bentonville residents and six Fayetteville residents, according to information from Roger Morris, Washington County coroner, and Daniel Oxford, Benton County coroner.
Bethel Heights and Gentry each had one resident die.
Oxford confirmed Michael Buonaiuto, 73, died Monday of covid-19. Buonaiuto was a resident at The Waters of Rogers, a nursing home on South Dixieland Road, according to his obituary.
The home has had 19 residents and 23 staff members test positive for the virus, according to the Arkansas Department of Health. A report released Tuesday didn't show a resident had died. Meg Mirivel, spokeswoman for the Health Department, said the data for the report released every weekday can lag depending on when nursing homes and other facilities report deaths to the department.
"The safety and well-being of our residents and staff is our top priority, and we are taking a very aggressive and proactive approach in preventing and defending against the virus through intense monitoring, screening, education and awareness and appropriate prevention and management," The Waters of Rogers said in a statement last week.
"We are in very close communication with local and state health officials to ensure we are taking every appropriate step presently," the statement says.
Brookstone Assisted Living Facility in Fayetteville, where three residents died of covid-19 in April and May, has two residents with active cases of covid-19 and three staff members with active cases, according to the Health Department. Two other staff members have recovered.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson recently announced most nursing homes would be allowed to accept visitors starting today.
Nine people, all Northwest Arkansas residents, have died in Washington County within the past week, according to Morris.
Kimberlyn Ria, 24, died June 23. Odilla Castillo, 63, and Atline Joseph, 26, died Thursday. Helen McGarrah, 93; Antonio Chonggum, 63; and Franklin Henos, 67, died Friday. David Jerde, 85, died Sunday. They were all Springdale residents.
Danny Ria, 49, of Springdale and Lowell Titus, 93, of Fayetteville died Tuesday.
Six people, all Northwest Arkansas residents including Buonaiuto, have died in Benton County since Thursday, according to information from Oxford's office.
A 74-year-old Springdale man and a 74-year-old Bentonville man died Friday. A 66-year-old Rogers man and a 93-year-old Springdale man died Saturday. A 55-year-old Rogers man died Sunday. Their names haven't been released.