Estimated active cases of Covid-19 in Arkansas went down from 16,728 to 15,557 July 25, according to the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH). While that could be a sign that the current surge primarily attributed to the highly transmissible BA.5 omicron variant is starting to ebb, there are a lot of uncertainties right now about the true number of cases.
State Epidemiologist Mike Cima wrote in an email that ADH understands its case-related data is an underestimation of the true burden of Covid-19 in our communities due to at-home testing. “These data allow for a temporal trend, but they are still estimates,” Cima said.
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington estimates that only about 13 percent of Covid-19 cases are currently being detected. That is due to many people using home test kits whose results are not reported, people with few or no symptoms, and people who become ill but don’t test.
ADH no longer does contact tracing of people who test positive for Covid. Cima said people are not considered positive after ten days unless they are immunocompromised.
CDC recommends people isolate themselves for five days after testing positive if they have no symptoms. Isolation can be ended after five days if you are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication and if your symptoms are improving. The agency recommends people who got very sick from Covid-19 or who have a weakened immune system should isolate for at least ten days and consult their doctor before ending isolation. Cima said people can test positive for up to a couple of weeks.
ADH reports estimated active cases in Carroll County went down to 143 July 25 after being estimated at 153 a day earlier. New cases for the previous week grew from 77 to 87. According to the New York Times Covid-19 data tracker July 25, new Covid cases in Carroll County were up 30 percent in the past 14 days while the number of new cases in Arkansas was down 4 percent and hospitalizations were up 47 percent. The ADH website reports 413 people with a Covid-19 diagnosis were hospitalized July 25 in Arkansas.
About 70 percent of counties in Arkansas are ranked by CDC as having a high risk for transmission of the virus that causes Covid-19. Carroll County is ranked as having medium risk.
For medium risk counties, CDC recommends the following: Stay up to date with Covid-19 vaccines. Get tested if you have symptoms. Wear a mask if you have symptoms, a positive test, or exposure to someone with Covid-19. Wear a mask on public transportation. You may choose to wear a mask at any time as an additional precaution to protect yourself and others. If you are at high risk for severe illness, consider wearing a mask indoors in public and taking additional precautions.
The ESH is having its next vaccine clinic from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, July 29, at the Eureka Springs Hospital Clinic. As usual, it is a walk-in clinic and everyone is asked to bring their vaccine card and insurance information, if they have it.