It wasn’t until June 24, several months after the beginning of the pandemic, that Carroll County had a total of 141 residents who tested positive for the virus that causes Covid-19. It went up that amount in one week recently, the last part of November and early December, according to statistics from the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH).
Carroll County has now seen 1,457 positive tests for the virus, with 1,269 considered recovered and 23 deaths. Recently, citing increased demand, the Eureka Springs Family Clinic expanded its hours for drive-through Covid-19 testing and sick call appointments. Weekday hours from 8 a.m. – noon have been expanded by adding an afternoon session from 1:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Dr. Dan Bell said normally a nurse practitioner and a doctor are stationed outside to see patients in their vehicles who are ill. Bell said that helps prevent the spread of Covid and seasonal viruses such as colds and flu inside the clinic.
“We are seeing lots of older folks inside for well care and usual visits, so we have to be careful to provide a safe facility for them,” Bell said.
The post-Thanksgiving surge that was expected from people traveling and celebrating with people outside of their household has been seen across the country. Arkansas had a total of nearly 18,750 probable and confirmed active cases as of Dec. 6.
Bell said that number of active cases is more than three times what it was last summer. It concerns him that the real number of active cases of Covid – people capable of spreading the virus – could be double that number because 50 percent of people with the virus don’t show symptoms.
“It is way up from where it was and it is probably going to go up further as we are seeing exponential spread,” Bell said. “All the experts were right with what they have been saying would happen. It’s time to be even more cautious. Christmas activities are coming before we have a vaccine, so we really need to rethink traditional Christmas gatherings.”
Bell said the epidemic is so unpredictable that it makes it harder to get under control. Some people get the virus without even getting sick. Others, even younger people without underlying health problems, end up in the hospital where some are dying from the virus that can cause heart attacks, heart failures and strokes, in addition to lung problems.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson posted on Dec. 6 that there were 1,542 new Covid-19 cases in Arkansas. “With 40 additional deaths, we continue to see the devastating results of not following CDC and Department of Health recommendations,” Hutchinson tweeted. “Please do your part to contribute to a healthy Arkansas.”
The post-Thanksgiving surge was reflected statewide as Arkansas reported record numbers of new cases and hospitalizations statewide. On Thursday, Dec. 3, ADH reported a record 2,789 new cases, and a record 1,088 hospitalizations were seen Dec. 2.
The state is up to about 171,000 confirmed and probable cases – representing almost six percent of the state’s population – with 2,660 deaths. Concerns are growing about the availability of ICU beds and staffing needed to care for patients.
The number of new cases for the Eureka Springs zip code went up by 15 in the past two weeks ending Dec. 7. There have been 109 known infections in the zip code. For the Holiday Island zip code, there have been 14 new known infections in the past two weeks and a total of 71 known infections.
Alpena, Green Forest and Berryville have had a higher number of new cases in the past month than Eureka Springs, according to data provided for the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement. Eureka Springs had 37, 36, 21 and 35 new cases for the four weeks in November.
Alpena is shown in the red zone with 56 new cases each week in November except the week ending Nov. 23 when there were 73 infections. Berryville saw 35, 40, 44 and then 64 cases Nov. 23, and Green Forest saw its numbers nearly double between the third and fourth week of November. It recorded 33, 26, 43 and then 84 cases on Nov. 23.
The Tyson plant Green Forest leads the state right now in the ADH listing of businesses with five more active cases of. The Dec. 3 report shows seven active cases with a total of 206 cases at the plant, with 199 considered recovered.
While the early spread of Covid was linked to large meat processing facilities, currently the largest number of cases are being seeing in K-12 school and at universities.
According to the ADH’s Educational Institutions Report released on Dec. 2, there are 2,107 active cases among staff members, students, and teachers in the state’s school districts. Total positive cases increased by 993 since the Nov. 30 report to 16,916, of which 11,454 are students.
ACHI reported that as of Nov. 25, there were 94 Arkansas school districts that have had 50 or more new known infections per 10,000 residents over a 14-day period, up from a week earlier.
According to ACHI, 12 high schools in red-zone districts had football games on Dec. 4 with six of those schools playing each other.
For all residents of the school district, ACHI figures showed Alpena as 16th highest in the state with 84 new known infections per 10,000 residents. Berryville was 21st highest with 80 new known infections per 10,000 residents. Green Forest was 22nd with the largest number of cases in all residents of the district with 79 new known infections.