The Arkansas Department of Health reported only one death from Covid-19 on Feb. 20, the lowest number since the week after Thanksgiving. That compared to 40 deaths the previous Sunday.
ADH showed Carroll County with three additional deaths in the previous week, bringing the total to 90 in the county who have died from Covid-19 as of Feb. 20. ADH reports indicated only 47 new cases of Covid in Carroll County in the previous week, and the number of active cases had declined from 145 to 100. However, with many people using home testing kits that have been distributed free in the area, and with some people who don’t get sick not getting tested at all, there is concern the number of new cases could be undercounted.
Another indication that the omicron variant surge is on the way out is Covid hospitalizations in the state are dropping.
“There are still cases occurring in the county,” Dr. Dan Bell, co-founder of the ECHO Clinic, said. “It is not zero yet. It is better than it has been, but we should still be cautious a bit longer including masking up in public places where we don’t know people’s vaccination status. We’re just about to the stage where it is safe to press on.”
Volunteers started work Feb. 20 on a new home at the ECHO Village. All the volunteers are vaccinated and have no symptoms of Covid.
“We think it is safe to get together like that and work outside on a warm, breezy day,” Bell said. “I think we should celebrate the positive that we are just about to the ‘end of the beginning,’ the place where Covid will still be with us, but more manageable. It will be safe to start going back to church and doing the things we have done before.”
“Everybody should make their own decision and, if the situation doesn’t seem safe, just mask up,” Bell said.
“It does feel comforting to see the numbers going down, but my husband and I are still wearing masks everywhere we go, which is still pretty limited,” one resident said. “And it is just unbelievable how many maskless people we run across! It definitely confuses me and makes me question myself when I see all these people without masks. But I also do not want to get sick and would rather be safe than sorry. I think about the 1918 flu pandemic where people thought they were safe after three surges, but then they were hit with a fourth one which was devastating.”
Resident Crystal Ursin said while she is pleased to see the number of new cases going down, she is concerned about the new omicron subvariant BA-2, which is estimated to be 30 percent more infectious than the original omicron strain. NPR reported that the new strain could foil the nation’s hopes of getting back to normal.
Ursin said she has been reading that not a lot is known about the subvariant, but it is a concern that regular PCR tests can’t detect it. Those are considered more accurate than the home tests, which can give you false negatives.
“You can have Covid and a home test can’t detect it because you don’t have enough virus in the body,” Ursin said. “That is why the rapid test is best when you have symptoms. The PCR test takes a couple of days and is more accurate. Since the regular PCR test can’t detect BA-2, the lab has to take it a step further. I’m not sure how many labs are doing that right now.”
Ursin said while the new sub variant is also more infectious, it isn’t known if it will lead to another surge since large numbers of people have either been vaccinated or had an infection. Natural immunity from an infection can protect against future infections.
“I don’t think we are out of the woods yet,” Ursin said. “There have been too many cases in the past where people stopped wearing masks and started gathering, and we experienced a surge again. With the new variant, it looks like there will be breakthrough infections in vaccinated people, as with the original strain of omicron.”
CNN reports new research suggest BA-2 is not only spreading faster but may also cause more severe disease and be resistant to some of the key weapons being used.
Free Covid vaccinations continue to be available at the Eureka Springs Hospital clinic from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Fridays. Free Covid testing is available by appointment. Call (479) 253-7400. A hospital spokesperson said demand for testing has decreased recently.