Cases of Covid-19 are increasing again in Eureka Springs and Northwest Arkansas, according to recently released information. There has been an outbreak at the Washington County Jail with 42 of more than 800 inmates in the overcrowded facility testing positive in July. Seven employees of Eureka Springs Hospital came down with Covid recently.
Samantha Jones, Eureka Springs Hospital marketing director, said that since June 29, the hospital had 15 community positive tests for Covid.
“A community positive encompasses the community on the whole and is not limited to our hospital staff,” Jones said. “The cases we have seen among hospital staff and patients are mild. Covid testing is not free but is covered by many insurance plans. Covid vaccines are free and available on an outpatient basis. Emergency room doctors can write antiviral prescriptions.”
One local couple with underlying health problems had avoided catching Covid for more than three years by largely staying isolated. They both were infected in late July.
“We had slowly started inching out of our protective bubble, attending a few intimate events in town (an art opening and potluck),” the woman said. “I’m not sure where we picked it up, but fortunately, we didn’t pass it along to anyone that we know of. My symptoms were severe for the first few days, with intense sinus pain and body aches, plus relentless fatigue.
“I started the Paxlovid anti-viral right away and felt some relief within 24 hours. After five days, I gradually improved but am holding back on activity even though I feel better. My doctor sternly warned me that this drug gives people a false sense of recovery, leading to rebounds and risking much longer duration.”
Her husband took the anti-viral medicine Molnupiravir, said to not have the metallic aftertaste noted with Paxlovid. He is also recovering.
Covid could be more common than realized as many people are not getting very ill.
“I’ve heard of others getting Covid recently with mild to moderate symptoms,” the local woman said. “It breaks my heart to back away from the few activities we were starting to enjoy again, but it’s time to hunker down. My husband has a complicated heart condition, and my health is already compromised.”
The day she contracted Covid, she had a slight sore throat and a little congestion that made her eyes ache. She tested because a friend was coming over who has serious lung issues.
“My test was negative, so I went about my day with her,” the woman said. “That night I woke at 2 a.m. with 102° fever and a log-splitting headache. By morning I tested positive. I had a 102° fever for two days until I was 24 hours into Paxlovid.
“My husband also had a ‘tiny’ sore throat on Thursday but tested negative until the third day. He went to Mercy Urgent Care and got a prescription. Before he started his pills, he became horribly nauseous and feverish. We didn’t realize this is common with Covid. He was miserable!”
While the public health emergency is officially over, 787 new cases and 15 hospitalizations were reported by the Arkansas Department of Health for the most recent seven-day period. ADH has reported 385 Covid deaths in the state through July.
Dr. Joe Thompson, MD, MPH, President and CEO of Arkansas Center for Health Improvement said, “Covid is still with us. We don’t have a new predominant variant. It is still one of the omicron versions, and it is still very infectious. If your immune system is not ramped up and vigilant, you can get Covid. Clearly, we are out of the public health emergency. It is not threatening to overwhelm the health care system. This is a very transmissible infection that isn’t going to go away and will continue to convey risk in our community.”
The nation may be on the front end of a ripple, Thompson said, possibly related to more people being inside due to record-breaking heat.
“While it is not the waves of illness we have seen in the past few years with tens of thousands of people getting infected every day, it is a continued concern for anyone with a suppressed immune system including people who are on immunosuppressant drugs for cancer or other health conditions, and people who have chronic infections,” he said. “Their immune systems are not at full force, so they are more susceptible to getting infected and having worse outcomes from being infected.
“And then there are other folks who didn’t get boosted with the bivalent vaccine for the omicron variant, or it has been a long time since they had a case of Covid. People who only had the original version of Covid are still susceptible to those variants. This includes healthy people whose immune system is not in optimal shape to protect them.”