Arkansas' count of patients receiving treatment in medical facilities because of covid-19 rose on Sunday by 37 for a total of 962, a new high, according to the Arkansas Department of Health.
In a statement on Sunday, Gov. Asa Hutchinson remarked on the strain that the high number of patients places on health care workers.
"At this rate we will soon have over 1,000 hospitalized due to COVID-19. Let's remember the threat this is to our loved ones & the stress this puts on our heroic healthcare workers," Hutchinson wrote on Twitter.
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Hospitalizations in the state have climbed steadily since mid-September, a trend that seems only to have accelerated in November. On Nov. 1, there were slightly more than 650 individuals hospitalized because of covid-19; three weeks later, the state's count of patients has increased by approximately 300.
"It's a tremendous stress for our health care workers," state epidemiologist Dr. Jennifer Dillaha said in a phone interview on Sunday. "And we as a state are having to compete with other states for workers."
With regard to available bed space, the limiting factor "is really the number of people to staff them," Dillaha said.
She said the governor and health officials are examining what to do to ensure the state can maintain adequate staffing.
Asked about Hutchinson's statement that hospitalizations may exceed 1,000 soon, Dillaha said the state could see more than 1,000 hospitalizations "in the very near future," though she declined to guess how high the total count might go.
She added that the number of hospitalizations will be driven partly by the number of cases.
"And that is driven by how people handle the holidays," Dillaha said. "Are they conservative and engage in activities that are low-risk for spread, or do they not behave as cautiously as they might and contribute to spread?"
With hospitalizations at a record level and new cases remaining high, Dillaha said that "it takes all of us working together as a state" when asked if she thought the numbers represented a failure on the part of the state of Arkansas.
"So it's not just the government that makes the difference, it's people, and how they conduct their daily lives," she said. "And how they will conduct themselves during the holidays."
Nevertheless, Dillaha went on to say, "As a state, as a people, we are not doing as well as we should be doing at this point, and partly it's because we are letting our guard down -- so letting our guard down, in a sense, is a failure."
In addition to the increase in hospitalizations, the Department of Health on Sunday reported 1,352 new covid-19 cases. Of these new infections, 1,277 were classified as confirmed and 75 as probable, according to health officials.
The number of patients on ventilators increased by nine on Sunday, for a total of 163.
Twenty additional deaths reported on Sunday brought the state's toll to 2,357.
In the months since the first confirmed coronavirus case was reported in Arkansas on March 11, a cumulative total of 145,173 cases have been reported in the state.
Testing remained high on Saturday, with results from 12,956 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and 700 antigen tests reported to health officials. Results from over 234,600 PCR tests and over 38,500 antigen tests have been reported so far in November.
The state's tally of active cases, which notes the infected individuals who have neither recovered nor died from covid-19, fell for the first time in several days. The number of active cases decreased by 99, for a total of 17,646, the Department of Health reported.
CASES BY COUNTY
Pulaski County and Washington County led the state in terms of new cases reported on Sunday, with 155 each, according to the Department of Health.
They were followed by Benton County with 74, Craighead County with 52 and Saline County with 49.
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None of the 20 deaths reported on Sunday were the result of delayed reports, according to Department of Health spokesman Gavin Lesnick.
Several counties experienced multiple deaths as a result of covid-19: Six deaths occurred in Benton County, four in Pulaski County and two each in Faulkner and Franklin counties, Lesnick said in an email.
SCHOOL CASES
Five staff members and two students within the Little Rock School District tested positive for the virus recently, according to the district's covid-19 weekend report released on Sunday. An additional 33 people entered quarantine between Friday and Sunday, according to the district.
Three staff members at Central High School tested positive, plus one staff member each at Parkview High School and Williams Elementary School. Six staffers at Parkview entered quarantine, the district reported.
One student at McDermott Elementary tested positive for the virus, and 15 other students at the school entered quarantine, according to the district's report. One student at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School tested positive, and two other students entered quarantine.