The end of 2021 saw Arkansas reporting record numbers of new daily cases of Covid-19, with close to 5,000 cases reported Dec. 30, an increase of 329 percent in the previous two weeks and the highest levels seen in the pandemic, according to the Arkansas Department of Health. ADH reports a Covid test positivity rate of 23.8, also a record for the pandemic.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports the U.S. overall is also experiencing the highest new daily cases of the pandemic began. The CDC warns that indoor activities could be risky right now.
Eureka Springs Hospital has recently been seeing some of the highest demand for Covid testing seen during the pandemic, but CEO Angie Shaw said many of them were negatives.
On Dec. 27, more than 40 people were tested at the ESH.
“I know that a lot of them were negatives,” Shaw said. “The symptoms they were having were similar to Covid, but the tests were negative. There is a cold going around. The symptoms are so similar that it is better to be checked out. I would rather people err on the side of caution than be positive and take the chance of spreading the virus. One thing about it is this strain is very contagious, but it doesn’t seem to be as fatal.”
In December, the hospital had 59 positives out of 392 tests.
“It was a 15 percent positivity rate, which has been our highest positivity rate since August when we had a 19 percent positivity rate,” Shaw said. “In October and November, it was 9.5 percent. It has definitely gone up quite a bit. But more people are just coming in to be tested and going home. They are not needing emergency room care or transfer to another hospital.”
People can call ahead to the hospital, (479) 253-7400, to request testing, and an employee will come out to your vehicle to take samples for both the rapid antigen test and the more accurate PCR that takes longer for results.
Recently the CDC took steps to try to keep healthcare providers and other essential workers on the job after testing positive for Covid. Initially CDC recommended people isolate for 14 days after receiving a positive test. It was reduced to 10 days and now to five days.
Shaw said the hospital is going to stay with the 10-day guideline in order to protect patients.
“We’re okay with staffing,” she said. “We are short with nursing staff but, in general, we are doing okay. We’ve never not had staff here to care for patients. If a nurse or a nurse’s family member is ill and can’t work, someone steps into this role. I have even worked shifts.”
It is not a good time to be sick with anything that requires transport to a larger hospital. TLC, a private ambulance transport company providing this service, went out of business Dec. 31 due to staffing shortages related to Covid.
“I don’t think TLC is going to reopen,” Shaw said. “Covid has hit all healthcare-related careers. There are a few other transport companies out of Northwest Arkansas, but they are busy, as well. So sometimes our wait times are longer. If it is a true emergency, the local EMS can step in and take them, or we can get a helicopter.”
Eureka Springs EMS avoids leaving the county in order to be available for local emergencies.
Dan Bell, co-founder of the ECHO Clinic, said the more contagious omicron variant, holiday gatherings, colder weather, high rates of unvaccinated Arkansans and the waning of the effects of vaccines have combined to trigger the Covid surge.
“It is possible omicron will be a blessing in disguise,” Bell said. “It is very infectious, but not causing people to be so sick. It could be a nudge to herd immunity without overwhelming hospitals. But people have to do the right thing now because there could be so many cases that we could overwhelm the hospitals. People should probably think about doing a personal mini-lockdown, cutting down on how often they are out and about. It is January. It is after the holidays. Maybe you don’t need to eat out as often or get together with friends. Wear a mask religiously. Right now, out in public, most people are not wearing masks. Now is the time to put masks on. And people should still be going after vaccines.”
Daily new cases in Arkansas went up from about 500 in mid-November to increase tenfold by late December. On graphs, both Arkansas and the U.S. have increases that look like a straight line up.
“It is pretty amazing,” Bell said. “A combination of the omicron and tail end of the delta has caused a lot of infections. Hopefully, by the third week of January, we will be on a downturn. There is a ray of hope from South Africa, where omicron was first discovered, in that their numbers have already peaked and started down in just a matter of a few weeks. I think our vaccination rate is better than theirs. Hopefully, this will be a short-lived surge, but we have to do the right thing to make that happen.”
Carroll County had been averaging only about eight cases a day the last two weeks of the year. The last day of the year, it jumped to 17. With a lag in testing because of the holidays, and many people getting together indoors in large groups, Bell fears the county will see the same surge that has already hit many other areas.
Carroll County had one additional death reported as of Jan. 1, and 103 people who tested positive in the two weeks prior to Jan. 4, with the active cases estimated at 83.
President Joe Biden has announced plans to make 500 million at-home Covid test kits available free at places like health clinics and libraries.
“These rapid antigen tests are good at picking up high viral loads,” Bell said. “It you look at the data used to develop and approve them, they were tested on people who were quite sick. If you have a lot of the virus in your secretions, the test is 85 percent accurate. But if you are asymptomatic, you are not going to have much virus in your secretions and the antigen tests are not necessarily going to be accurate. Tests are helpful, but they aren’t going to be the answer to the pandemic. The answer to the pandemic is all of us doing the right things, including wearing a mask and getting vaccinated.”
Vaccine shots, including boosters, are available at the Eureka Springs Family Medical Clinic, call (479) 253-9746, to find times for shots and Covid testing. ESH gives shots on Fridays from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. (no appointment necessary), Economy Drug in Berryville (get an appointment online at economydrug.net), or the Carroll County Health Unit, (870) 423-2923, for appointment.