Large crowds of tourists came to Eureka Springs Memorial Day weekend, and smaller but significant crowds the two weekends afterwards. Many tourists downtown were not wearing masks or practicing social distancing, but it appears that Eureka Springs has not seen a surge of Covid-19 cases by opening up.
According to Nick Samac, emergency management coordinator for Carroll County, there are no known cases of Covid-19 in Eureka Springs.
“I am guardedly optimistic that the shops and the visitors are coming back to Eureka Springs without a surge in town,” Mayor Butch Berry said. “It is encouraging to see the parking lots starting to fill back up with visitors. I believe that with Washington and Benton counties being a hot spot, we need to encourage everyone, visitors and residents, to continue to wear masks and maintain social distancing. This is not the time to be complacent.”
ADH statistics indicate Covid-19 positive tests in Carroll County went from fewer than five in early May to 38, and one death, by early June. The ADH website lists 18 of the 38 as recovered. Most cases in Carroll County are reportedly linked to the Tyson chicken processing plants.
Arkansas currently has the highest number of active Covid-19 cases, 2,710, since the pandemic began. Gov. Asa Hutchinson said at a press conference May 8 that the increased number of cases are not related to the state reopening businesses, and that it’s important to continue with reopening the economy.
State Health Secretary Dr. Nate Smith said only two percent of the people testing positive recently have been connected to a restaurant, with even lower percentages for other businesses that have reopened like gyms, hotels and barber shops.
The Eureka Springs Health Outreach (ECHO) clinic staff’s testing of 100 local residents who may have been exposed to a released inmate with coronavirus resulted in only two positives, both among store workers in Berryville.
A parolee tested positive in Eureka Springs for Covid-19 after being released from the Cummins prison where there has been an epidemic of Covid-19. As per policy at the time, Jad Perkins was screened, but not tested, for the virus, according to the Arkansas Department of Corrections.
Suzie Bell, co-founder of ECHO, said they were very pleased to see so few positive Covid-19 test results.
“The two positives were silent carriers,” Bell said. “That means they were showing no symptoms. This is all the more reason to continue cautious and safe practice.”
The test from two other individuals were inconclusive. Those people were referred to the health department for a second test.
Bell said she is relieved to see no surge in Eureka Springs, and credits responsible store owners for wearing masks and practicing good social distancing.
“I am distressed that all trolley drivers are not required to wear masks,” Bell said. “I believe it is a matter of time before we see problems from that.”
The testing was conducted by Dr. Dan Bell, Dr. Greg Kresse and John Hutchcroft, APN. Workplaces tested included a grocery, a convenience store, a restaurant and a drugstore in Eureka Springs, and emergency medical services, police departments in Eureka Springs and Berryville, the Carroll County Detention Center, and Walmart.
There is some evidence that the safest place to be in the current epidemic is outdoors. Studies have shown the virus dies in the sunlight, according to the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center, which has also concluded that high temperature and humidity are less favorable to the spread of the virus.