Day 33 – Mon. Apr. 13, 2020

(Above) Chart 1 – Number of newly admitted COVID-19 patients

Here are some Key Notes, Statistics, and Video for Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson’s news update on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today’s news conference focused on prison outbreaks, summer camps and post-peak strategy. Dr. Nate Smith, State Secretary of Health also listed the current statistics for COVID-19 patients as usual.

Governor Hutchinson urged viewers, “There’s not any indication that we’ve met the peak yet. It’s not time to decrease our intensity on social distancing, on avoiding gatherings of more than ten, and also on wearing face masks when you cannot appropriately social distance.”

This prefaced his announcement that he has created a COVID-19 Post-Peak Advisory Board. The goals of the board include deciding how and when to get back to business as usual and how to keep from having another peak since there is not yet a vaccine.

(Above) Chart 2 – The number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized on a given day.

Dr. Smith stated that Summer Camps may not happen this year and that the Arkansas Department of Health will send out guidance on it. He listed a few things among the reasons for caution in making a decision. One is that camps are normally later in the summer, camp counselors meet as early as May, which Dr. Smith said he feels is too soon. Another reason is because summer camps are a congregate setting, where participants use barracks or communal sleeping arrangements with bunks in close proximity. During the time of questions from reporters, the Governor added that although parents might normally use these camps as child care during the summer, note that daycare businesses are still open.

(Above) Chart 3 – Active COVID-19 cases in Arkansas vs. cumulative

Dr. Nate Smith, State Secretary of Health listed the current statistics for COVID-19 patients below:

30 deaths
74 hospitalized
1410 total cases
989 of those are active cases
- Does not include those previous patients that have recovered or are deceased
1030 test results yesterday
- 2.9% were positives from commercial labs
- 5.7% were positives from UAMS
- 71% were positives from the State Health Lab
55 cases at Forrest City Federal Correctional Facility
43 cases at Cummins State Correctional Facility
32 cases at Little Rock Community Correctional Facility
24 cases at Drug Rehab Facility in central Arkansas
28 are currently on a ventilator
193 healthcare workers