Resurgence in new COVID cases, hospitalizations concerns UAMS physician

KUAR | By Michael Hibblen, Josie Lenora

Arkansas reported the number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 surpassed 100 for the first time in about two months.

While the number of patients declined by eight on Friday to 97, a physician who has helped lead the response to the pandemic at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences says the number of new infections suggests there will be more people needing treatment in the immediate future.

The Arkansas Department of Health reported 712 new cases on Friday, which was the largest since March 21 when there were 781 cases. The second-highest increase was on Thursday, when 635 cases were reported.

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/2022-06-04/resurgence-in-new-covid-cases-hospitalizations-concerns-uams-physician

Michael Hibblen/KUAR News

Dr. Robert Hopkins, seen here at a UAMS drive-thru COVID-19 testing location on July 23, 2020, said Friday he is concerned about the growing number of new infections which will likely lead to a further resurgence in hospitalizations.

Governor Hutchinson Talks Increasing Cases, Expanding Hospital Capacity In Weekly Briefing

LITTLE ROCK – At his weekly news briefing today, Governor Asa Hutchinson discussed the state expanding hospital capacity and increasing case numbers.

COVID-19

Governor Hutchinson announced the new numbers for COVID-19 as of Friday with Arkansas surpassing over 100k active cases in the state. This means over 3% of the population is currently an active case and hospitalizations have increased to a new record of 1,658.

"With where we are right now in this pandemic, and with the Omicron variant we do believe we are managing our way through it," Governor Hutchinson said, "We are responding to the needs that are out there and we are hopeful we will see the cases go down."

Governor Hutchinson gave an update on hospital expansion from the approved $50 million dollars. He said that beds have been opened in hospitals that have received that money to increase capacity for the surging cases.

According to reports from Thursday, about 42 beds were open with about 54 left to be opened meaning additional capacity is coming soon with more beds coming online.

He said it is important to see the cases of COVID-19 and the Omicron variant compared to past spikes and to see how while the cases are much higher now, hospitalizations are far less in comparison to the current case number.

Governor Hutchinson presented the at-home test map that shows where the 1.5 million tests were distributed to. There are still about 370,000 available at local health units with libraries having a supply as well. These tests should help alleviate testing demands giving a cushion while waiting for federal tests to be delivered.

Greg Crain, Vice President of the Arkansas Baptist Health centers spoke during the briefing applauding the work of health care workers dealing with the COVID-19 surges. He gave thanks to the decision from Governor Hutchinson, the Department of Health, and Legislators, to expand beds for hospitals around the state including Baptist Health hospitals. He said without this expansion the Arkansas health care infrastructure would be in deep trouble.

Dr. Romero, Secretary of Arkansas Department of Health spoke about the impact the Omicron variant has had on Arkansas. He noted that while hospitalizations reflect how Omicron is less severe on an individual level, the Omicron breakout is still very severe on a societal level and still poses a threat to our health care system.

An Airplane-Based Ambulance Pilot Shares about the Chaos of COVID-19

By MATTHEW MOORE

Tom Myers is the founder of Physicians Air Transport, a fixed-wing air ambulance service that covers five states across the South. Myers says due to COVID-19, they're having to travel farther away than ever before to find a hospital bed for their patients. He recently shared on a Facebook post, "It’s certainly your choice to get vaccinated. No argument from me. But if you could see, what I see daily, it’d be easy for you to make the choice for vaccination."

https://www.kuaf.com/post/airplane-based-ambulance-pilot-shares-about-chaos-covid-19

Tom Myers

COURTESY / TOM MYERS

Delta Variant Overrunning NEA Hospital Systems; Jonesboro Mayor Urging Vaccines

by George Jared (gjared@talkbusiness.net)

Arkansas has become one of the hot spots in the country for the spread of the Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus, and Northeast Arkansas is feeling the impact.

During the last 14 days, the number of hospitalizations in Arkansas has doubled to 687. UAMS Chancellor Dr. Cam Patterson recently told Talk Business & Politics the number of cases and hospitalizations is rising dramatically and is being fueled by the lack of vaccinations.

Patterson said the Delta variant is much more contagious, and has the potential to be more lethal. The average age of patients admitted during the last COVID-19 surge was in the 60s, but that number has dropped to people in their 40s and several patients have had to have lung and heart bypasses.

https://talkbusiness.net/2021/07/delta-variant-overrunning-nea-hospital-systems-jonesboro-mayor-urging-vaccines/

Arkansas Sees Largest Spike In COVID-19 Hospitalizations Since January

By DANIEL BREEN

The highly contagious Delta variant of COVID-19 continues to grow in Arkansas, resulting in a new surge in coronavirus hospitalizations.

The state added another 270 cases of COVID-19 Tuesday while another six Arkansans died from the disease caused by the coronavirus. The state currently has 4,645 active cases of COVID-19.

“This is the largest increase in hospitalizations since January. It is the largest increase in hospitalizations since we’ve had the vaccination available to prevent hospitalizations. And we have 55 added to the hospital rolls as a result of COVID-19,” Hutchinson said.

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/post/arkansas-sees-largest-spike-covid-19-hospitalizations-january

Gov. Asa Hutchinson speaks with reporters at the state Capitol in his weekly media briefing on July 6, 2021.

CREDIT GOVERNOR'S OFFICE / YOUTUBE

Governor Hutchinson’s Weekly News Conference: July 4, Vaccinations, California Travel Ban

LITTLE ROCK – In his weekly news conference today, Governor Asa Hutchinson discussed the continued need for vaccines, the Delta variant of COVID-19, precautions for July 4, the request to send Arkansas State Troopers to assist at the nation’s southern border, and the California ban on taxpayer-funded travel by state employees to Arkansas.

COVID:

“Fourth of July is coming up. My caution to all Arkansans is, yes, you’re going to travel, yes, you’re going to the lake, yes, you’re going to have your backyard cookout and celebrations. I’ll be joining in that as well. But if you are not vaccinated, then please take the responsibility to take care of yourself. Don’t add to the spread of the virus. We have the Delta variant moving into Arkansas. We have to take that very seriously. It’s more contagious. It has more health consequences. Follow the guidelines, which are social distancing and wearing a mask if you have not been vaccinated”.

• There have been 3,765 Arkansans hospitalized since January 26, 2021, and 98.3 percent of those were not immunized. 90.5 percent of current cases are not fully immunized. There have been 988 deaths, and 99.6 percent of them were not immunized.

Vaccinations by County

Top Five: Bradley, Desha, Washington, Pulaski, Benton

Bottom 5: Calhoun, Lafayette, Lincoln, Fulton, Miller

Nursing Homes

• Every nursing home in America is required to submit a weekly report of the number of COVID-19 vaccinations administered to residents and staff.

• In Arkansas, 78.5 percent of residents and 57 percent of staff in facilities have received the COVID-19 vaccine.

• Two Arkansas facilities – Highlands of Bella Vista Health and Rehabilitation and Colonel Glenn Health and Rehabilitation – have reached 100 percent staff vaccinations.

• Arkansas’s percentage of vaccinated residents is the highest among states in the region. We beat Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.

• The percentage of vaccinated staff in Arkansas also is the highest in the region.

• The high vaccination rate has led to a drastic decline in COVID cases within Arkansas facilities.

• The diligence of the Arkansas Healthcare Association and Arkansas nursing homes allows more visits from family members and friends, and more activities for residents.

Regarding the California Attorney General’s ban on state employees flying to Arkansas on taxpayer money because of certain laws he deems unacceptable:

“While state employees may be barred from traveling here on state money, Californians are fleeing by the thousands to places such as Arkansas for our lower taxes, lower cost of living, and abundant opportunities. The lure of our state parks and quality of life will overcome any edict from the California Attorney General.”

State's Alternative Care Sites Scheduled To Begin Accepting COVID-19 Patients Next Week

By ZUZANNA SITEK

As hospitalizations for COVID-19 throughout Arkansas remain at all time highs, the state and its healthcare partners are preparing for the continued upward trend in cases by opening two alternative care sites next week. The facilities, which will provide 124 additional beds, will be located in Little Rock and Van Buren and will mostly be used to care for low-acuity COVID-19 patients.

https://www.kuaf.com/post/states-alternative-care-sites-scheduled-begin-accepting-covid-19-patients-next-week