State logs 21 more coronavirus deaths

Hospitalizations reach new high at 649; covid-19 case count increases by 612

Gov. Asa Hutchinson arrives Tuesday Sept. 29, 2020 in Little Rock for his weekly covid-19 briefing at the state Capitol. See more photos at arkansasonline.com/930governor/. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Staton Breidenthal)
Gov. Asa Hutchinson arrives Tuesday Sept. 29, 2020 in Little Rock for his weekly covid-19 briefing at the state Capitol. See more photos at arkansasonline.com/930governor/. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Staton Breidenthal)

Another 21 deaths from coronavirus were reported by the Arkansas Department of Health on Monday, while hospitalizations from the virus reached a new peak.

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There were 649 Arkansans with the virus in the hospital on Monday, an increase of 16 over the previous day. Of those patients, 102 were on ventilators, an increase of seven.

The numbers reported by the Health Department followed one of the state's worst weeks since the pandemic began in March. On four separate days, the state's number of new cases rose by more than 1,000.

The number of new cases has ebbed slightly over the previous two days, as has been typical of weekends, when testing is lower. The Health Department reported another 612 cases of the virus on Monday.

That brought the total number of covid-19 cases in the state since the start of the pandemic to 106,727. Of those, 9,571 were considered active cases.

A total of 1,833 Arkansans have died from the virus, including the 21 added to the death toll Monday.

"We are not having a steep escalation of cases but we do see the new cases steadily increasing in the last few weeks," Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in a statement attached to the day's numbers. "The increased hospitalizations and deaths are somber reminders of the current threat. United, we will have success but it takes everyone to fight hard in the coming weeks. We must do our part to help slow the spread of COVID-19 in Arkansas, especially as we head toward what could be a very challenging winter."

Of the 9,120 hospital beds in the state, 2,470 remained available to take on patients Monday, according to numbers collected by the Health Department. There are also 1,054 ICU beds in the state, 122 of which remain available.







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The numbers reported by the Health Department on Monday were based on 6,965 lab-confirmed test results, as well as 641 antigen tests.

Case numbers grew the most in Pulaski, Washington, Craighead, Sebastian and Benton counties, according to the Health Department.

The disease caused a temporary halt last week to legislative budget hearings; they resume today with precautions. Seven lawmakers have been diagnosed with the disease, along with a budget official and a Cabinet secretary.

NEVADA SCHOOLS

A two-week shift to remote learning began Monday for students in the Nevada School District in southwest Arkansas, said Superintendent Rick McAfee.

Three staff members and three students have covid-19, McAfee said Monday. Twenty students and 11 staff members are considered to have been close contacts of those with the virus, he said.

The "very rural" district covers about 380 square miles, McAfee said.

"A large percentage of our students, probably 40%, don't have cell service," McAfee said. School buses equipped to serve as mobile "hot spots" for internet access will be deployed to the homes of students, McAfee said. The district already provides students with Chromebook computers.

"Students will bring their Chromebooks out to the buses, download new lessons and upload the work that they've done," McAfee said. The buses will make their rounds twice each week, he said, and thumb-drive computer storage also will be used to make sure students get their instructional materials.

The latest virus surge has effectively shut down the school's lunchroom, McAfee said, so teachers are stepping up to help package meals for delivery.

"This is so unplanned," McAfee said. But the district previously had a two-day shift to remote learning because it needed to find an adequate number of substitute teachers, McAfee said.

McAfee said many families are accustomed to having the school provide meals. About 75% of the district's approximately 400 students are considered low income, according to state data.

"Our faculty is getting together. We're putting the meals together to send out to the kids, plus doing the duty of teaching. I can't say enough about my staff, how great they are," McAfee said.

Students receiving food Wednesday will be given five lunch and five breakfast meals, with McAfee estimating that some 2,000 meals will go out with the help of teachers and other staff members.

"In a small school we're a family, and everybody steps up," McAfee said.

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MAGAZINE DISTRICT

The Magazine School District is "extending" its virtual instruction through this week, according to a social media post. The previous week, classes also were taught virtually, according to a social media post.

Superintendent Beth Shumate did not respond to an email sent Monday requesting comment.

In an Oct. 15 post on the school district's website, Shumate said 15 students were in quarantine and one staff member had tested positive for covid-19.

"We must stay vigilant to practice proper hygiene, wear our masks, and social distance where we can," Shumate said in the post.

A statewide report released Monday showed a decline in covid-19 case totals at the state's colleges and universities. Active cases fell to 377 from 394 on Thursday.

The state Health Department releases its educational-institutions report on Mondays and Thursdays.

The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville topped all colleges with 43 active cases, up from 39 active cases listed in Thursday's report.

Individual schools have often reported active-case totals different from those in the statewide report, however, and UA on its website Monday listed 26 active cases. UA reported four positive results from 227 on-campus tests done from Friday through Sunday.

For the seven-day period that ended Sunday, UA reported totals related to its on-campus testing. Out of 1,108 tests done, 12 were positive.

In the Little Rock School District, two students at Cloverdale Middle School tested positive for covid-19 on Monday, according to a statement from Wanda Ruffins, the school's principal.

The school will transition to all-virtual instruction for the rest of the week, Ruffins said.

A total of 43 students and six staff members were in quarantine because of possible contact with the students who tested positive for covid-19, Ruffins said.

Two other schools in the district -- Pulaski Heights Middle School and Little Rock West High School of Innovation -- last week announced a switch to virtual instruction because of covid-19 cases and related quarantine totals.

The Little Rock School District had 31 active covid-19 cases, according to Monday's statewide report, second only to the Springdale School District, listed with 49 active cases.

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'CALLED TO PREACH'

George Dudley, an 88-year-old former pastor from Alexander, was among the Arkansans who died this weekend after contracting covid-19.

Dudley died at the intensive care unit of Baptist Health on Saturday, where he had been admitted earlier this month after testing positive for the virus, according to a coroner's report.

His wife, Joyce Dudley, recalled that her husband was "called to preach at 16," and later founded the Christ Church on Vimy Ridge Road in Little Rock in 1975. He served as pastor of the church until turning over his duties to his son, Sean Dudley, last year.

"He could relate to the richest person, to the poorest person, it didn't matter," Joyce Dudley said.

In his spare time, George Dudley enjoyed hunting, fishing and playing dominoes, his wife said. But ministry was his calling, as it was for others in his family.

"He was true blue, he was the same on Monday as he was on Sunday," Joyce Dudley said.

The Dudleys had four children along with grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

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