KUAR | By Talk Business & Politics Staff
Published January 14, 2022 at 3:21 PM CST
As many as 500,000 Arkansans may become infected with the omicron variant of COVID-19 in the coming weeks if trends continue, including 1,764 additional hospitalizations and 341 deaths by Feb. 8.
The projections from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health are based on data provided by the Department of Health through Jan. 9. The model forecasts 106,419 new COVID cases by Jan. 24 and 285,642 new cases by Feb. 8, which would be an increase of more than 36%. 10,000 new cases are expected per day.
176 additional deaths are projected by Jan. 24 and 341 by Feb. 8, which would equal roughly 11 new deaths per day. There would be 855 additional hospitalizations by Jan. 24, with the state reaching 85 daily hospitalizations by Feb. 8.
Michael Hibblen/KUAR News
The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine was shown at the Arkansas Department of Health on Dec. 14, 2020 before the state administered its first doses.