The omicron Covid-19 variant brought the highest level of active cases seen during the pandemic in Carroll County and the state in mid- to late January, with the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) reporting 580 active cases in Carroll County on Jan. 25. Covid numbers have been on a decline since then to 498 active cases Jan. 31 and down to 288 active cases Feb. 7.
A winter storm closed local schools and kept many people at home from Feb. 2–6, which likely affected the number of people tested. Free test kits distributed from the library earlier, combined with free test kits provided by the Rockefeller Foundation, indicated that many people could have tested at home during the storm.
Still, those lower ADH numbers are creating hope that the winter storm may have been helpful in ushering out the omicron surge.
“I do think the storm helped a bit,” Dr. Dan Bell, co-founder of the ECHO Clinic, said. “The numbers were already going down and the storm probably accelerated it. The winter storm kind of kept everyone home and created a mini lockdown. The flu epidemic is petering out, too, and we are seeing fewer colds. Everything is slowing down a little bit.”
Hospitalizations are still at a high level straining the capacity of the larger hospitals in Northwest Arkansas that treat seriously ill Covid patients. Hospitalization levels generally lag cases by two to three weeks.
Bell expects hospitalizations to come down steadily over the next few weeks. However, he said it is still a very good idea to get a booster shot even if you have had the first two vaccinations.
“It takes three shots to really get your immunity up,” Bell said. “The numbers for preventing hospitalization and death are so much more impressive with three shots than two. And if someone has some kind of immune system impairment, they should be given a fourth shot five months after the booster.”
Bell recommends people keep wearing masks in public places for another couple of weeks.
Angie Shaw, CEO, of Eureka Springs Hospital, said there was no regular Friday vaccine clinic at the hospital because of the weather, and all outpatient procedures including Covid testing were cancelled Thursday and Friday.
“The snow was beautiful, but it halted business for a little while,” Shaw said. “I feel we were in a forced quarantine with the weather and my hope is that may have broken up Covid spread a little bit.”
A couple weeks ago the hospital was having difficulty finding beds at larger hospitals for Covid patients needing to be transferred. She said that situation is improving.
No appointments are necessary for the free vaccine shots provided at the clinic across from the main entrance of the hospital. Nationally there have been concerns about people not getting the booster shots, but Shaw said they are still getting quite a bit of interest in the third shots even from high school students who are eligible.
According to the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement, the number of residents (not just students) fully vaccinated in the Eureka Springs School District is one of the highest in the state at 60 percent. And as of Jan. 7, the schools had just five positive cases among students with no positives among staff and no quarantines, Supt. Bryan Pruitt said.
In an email sent to parents Feb. 7, Pruitt announced that due to declining Covid cases in the district, masks will no longer be required at this time. Currently the school is well below the three percent threshold of infection in the area at which masks are required and is following Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s recommendation that students and staff don’t have to be quarantined if a three-ft. social distance is maintained.
“If cases begin to rise and we break the three percent district population threshold, we will once again be required to wear masks,” Pruitt said.
Schools hosting basketball tournaments
Schools were closed Feb. 2-4 because of the winter storm but used Alternative Method of Instruction days so those days don’t have to be added at the end of the school year. The state allows 10 AMI days per school year and six have been used.
“We have four more days,” Pruitt said. “Fingers crossed, we will have enough of those days and won’t have to add days to the end of the school year. The long-range forecast is for the next two weeks to be above normal temperatures and not a lot of chance of freezing rain, which is a good thing for us.”
From Feb. 7-11, the school is hosting the junior high basketball championship for the 2A West Conference. The following week is the senior high district competition in Flippin. In the final week in the month, Eureka Springs will be hosting 16 teams for the regional high school basketball tournament.
“Our high school boys are expected to go deep into the regional tournament,” Pruitt said. “If we win one game, we get to go on to state. It will be their time to shine. It’s good for our local economy because players and fans for eight school districts in the river valley area will be staying here.”