Driven by the highly contagious omicron variant, Carroll County had 342 new cases and 580 active cases of Covid-19 the week ending Jan. 25 – some of the highest levels seen during the pandemic – according to the Arkansas Department of Health. Estimated active cases for Arkansas is at about 96,000. ADH reported two more Covid deaths for Carroll County bringing the total to 87, with six of those deaths since the first of the year.
Health officials have said there are probably far more cases than are being reported because 1.5 million free home test kits have been disbursed in the state, and few people may be reporting their test results.
ADH has been reporting record numbers of new cases, active cases and hospitalizations since the post-holiday surge began. There is a shortage of beds for people with Covid who need hospitalization. Hospitals are struggling to meet staffing needs as some fully vaccinated workers have come down with breakthrough infections or are needed to care for family members who are ill.
The Arkansas Center for Health Improvement (ACHI) reported last week that, for the first time, all of Arkansas’s 234 public school districts have Covid-19 infection rates of 50 or more new known infections per 10,000 district residents over a 14-day period. Covid cases for school districts, not just students and staff, are at record high levels.
Beginning the third week in January, ACHI added a new color, pink, to the maps on its Covid-19 dashboard, available at achi.net/covid19, to signify an infection rate of 200 or more new known infections per 10,000 district residents over the past 14 days, or at least two percent of the district’s population. ACHI reported 73 percent of the districts, 170, including Eureka Springs, in the pink zone. Red and purple designate lower, but still significant, rates of Covid.
“Every school district being in red, purple, or pink on our map means that Covid-19 is spreading uncontrolled in all our communities,” ACHI President and CEO Dr. Joe Thompson said. “In nearly three-fourths of the districts, at least two percent of the local population is infected. In four districts, more than five percent of the population, or one out of every twenty people, is newly infected.”
“I’m ready to get out of the pink zone on the ACHI website,” Eureka Springs School Supt. Bryan Pruitt said. “That may be coming soon. We are way down on the number of cases. We were off school on the 13th, 14th and then the 17th for Martin Luther King Day. Those five days off helped us a lot. Then we had to take off Thursday the 20th for weather.”
As of Jan. 25, the schools had 17 active positive cases, including 13 students and four staff. There were 26 students and one staff member in quarantine. The schools will be having another vaccine clinic Jan. 28 where first, second and booster doses will be offered.
Pruitt said the school district used to be able to call its own shots about when to close because of high Covid rates. But that is no longer a decision that can be made locally.
“The governor says very adamantly that schools will remain open,” Pruitt said. “Basically, as long as we have staff, we remain open. I agree with that. The economy will stay open. Parents can still go to work. There are some options for students at risk. If people don’t want their kids in school, there is Arkansas Virtual that is a state online program. We tried to offer that last year, but had few people take advantage of that.”
While some kids learn well online, most find it a challenge.
“It’s hard to replace a teacher in front of kids who can explain things, be nurturing, and keep students on task,” Pruitt said. “Most of the kids need that structured classroom.”
Pruitt said the state will not extend the 10 Alternate Methods of Instruction days allowed to school districts. More closures now could mean the schools doing make-up days. Since many staff and students work during the tourism season, Pruitt said they want to avoid extending school into the summer months.
Different states and areas of the country are experiencing the surge at different times, Katy Turnbaugh, retired science teacher in Carroll County, said. She has been closely following Covid numbers in New York because she has kids who live there.
“They are down to one-third or one-fourth of their peak in New York,” Turnbaugh said. “One of my other kids lives in Oregon and they are seeing a rising swell in cases. It looks very problematic for unvaccinated people in terms of hospitalizations in counties and states with high levels of unvaccinated individuals. The breakthrough cases seem to be real.”
Currently, people’s best defense is what health officials have urged all along: get vaccinated, including the booster shot, avoid crowds, socially distance, use good hand sanitation, and wear high-quality surgical masks when you are around others indoors.
“Nobody in my family has gotten it, but everyone has been on the forefront of getting vaccinated and boosted,” Turnbaugh said. “They are reasonably healthy and fit, and I think that has a lot to do with the susceptibility and outcomes. All my family is diligent about masking with a high-filtration mask, a KN95 or N95.”
Turnbaugh said she is tired of Covid denial and the large number of people who put others at risk with their behavior.
“I have no trouble with people not taking the vaccines, but if you aren’t vaccinated, please don’t participate in your community,” she said. “Don’t go out into public without a mask if you aren’t going to get vaccinated. It is disturbing to see the nursing home situation going in a bad direction again. We have an obligation for people who are more vulnerable to care for them.”
A recent Texas Health and Human Services study concluded that unvaccinated people in Texas were 16 times more likely to die of a Covid-associated issue than vaccinated people.
Free home Covid test kits are now available at covidtests.gov. The Biden Administration has said 500 million free home test kits will be provided, and there are plans to distribute 400 million free N95 masks. Free Covid testing is available by appointment at the Eureka Springs Hospital by calling (479) 253-7400. Free Covid vaccines are available at the hospital clinic on Fridays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.