FORT SMITH -- Gov. Asa Hutchinson requested $200 million for increased bed space for covid-19 patients and additional nursing staff to oversee it.
Hutchinson made his announcement at the First Friday Breakfast at University of Arkansas-Fort Smith, where he also said an estimated roughly 15% of hospital population in the state consists of covid-19 patients.
Hutchinson announced he requested the money through the steering committee of the Arkansas Legislature. He expects the money to be approved by the legislature in two to three weeks.
Ahead of the approval, Arkansas officials have reached out to the other 49 states to recruit nurses, he said.
"There are some states where the vaccination rate's high, their cases are low," Hopefully, we'll be able to attract those, and we'll be able to pay a high premium for that," Hutchinson said.
The push for money emphasizes how the state has "got to get control on the virus," Hutchinson said. The state on Friday morning had more than 21,000 active covid-19 cases -- a more than 13-fold increase from June 7, he said.
Hutchinson said lagging vaccination rates and the prevalence of the more transmissible delta variant of the virus are the two reasons for the spike. Arkansas is about 37.2% fully vaccinated against covid-19, according to data compiled by the Mayo Clinic from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the COVID Tracking Project and the U.S. Census Bureau.
While Hutchinson said he doesn't want to infringe on others' personal liberties and choice to get vaccinated, he said the vaccine is a solution to concerns about covid-19 in the workplace and schools for those eligible.
Hutchinson's address came just hours before a Pulaski County judge temporarily blocked a ban on mask mandates imposed through the Arkansas Legislature. The governor had asked the legislature to reconvene so school districts could decide to mandate masks for students younger 12 who are unable to get the vaccine.
At his address, Hutchinson touted his efforts to increase covid-19 vaccinations through his "community conversations on covid." Since the beginning of July, Hutchinson has traveled to more than 12 Arkansas cities and held public forums largely focused on addressing questions and concerns about the vaccine.
Hutchinson estimated vaccinations in the state have increased 40% since the community conversations began. He also said about 11,000 vaccinations were given throughout the state Thursday, and the state had seen 30,000 vaccinations given in one day prior.