Michael Tilley/ Talk Business & Politics

University of Arkansas Chancellor Dr. Joseph Steinmetz supports the move to rename a main dining hall on the campus and relocate a statue of former U.S. Sen. William Fulbright, but opposes renaming the university’s Fulbright College of Art and Sciences.

With the more easily transmissible and more deadly UK variant of COVID-19 becoming more prevalent in Arkansas, Gov. Asa Hutchinson is again asking state residents to get vaccinated and encouraged employers to make vaccines available in the workplace.

Arkansas Secretary of Health Dr. Jose Romero said Tuesday during the weekly COVID briefing there has been a “three-fold” increase in the UK variant among the limited amount of variant testing conducted on those who test positive.

With a “worrisome point” worth watching being a recent rise in hospitalizations, Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Tuesday (April 20) said state officials’ focus is to increase COVID-19 vaccine demand to avoid the “jeopardy” of cases rising again later this year.

COVID-related hospitalizations totaled 177 in Tuesday’s report, up 13 from the previous 24 hours, and up from the 148 on the previous Tuesday. The governor called the number of hospitalizations a “worrisome point” that he and other state officials are monitoring.

Arkansas health officials are focused on boosting vaccine numbers ahead of any rise in COVID-19 variants, getting more vaccines to minority groups, and overcoming vaccine “resistance,” Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Tuesday (April 6) during his weekly COVID briefing.

“We have to overcome resistance. We have to overcome the challenges of a rural state,” the governor said.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Tuesday (March 30) lifted the statewide mask mandate even as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urged governors to not lift such restrictions. Gov. Hutchinson also on Tuesday opened vaccine eligibility to all Arkansans age 16 and older.

“It is an appropriate time to lift the statewide mask mandate,” Gov. Hutchinson said, noting that the criteria of having fewer than 750 COVID-19 hospitalizations has been met.

With around 10% of Arkansans being fully vaccinated and a push by the Biden administration to open vaccine access, Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Tuesday expanded eligibility an estimated 1.2 million Arkansans in the 1c category.

There are an estimated 2.131 million Arkansans now eligible – total in categories 1a-c – to receive the vaccine, according to the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH). The state’s population is about 3.018 million according to the latest estimate from the U.S. Census.

With more than 1 million vaccines received in Arkansas and more than 650,000 Arkansans receiving at least one dose, Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Tuesday (March 2) he is expanding vaccine eligibility to an estimated 49,000 food manufacturing workers.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Tuesday the state will receive a 5% increase in vaccines delivered, which is on top of the 16% increase announced last week. He also said Walmart will receive 10,000 doses beginning Feb. 11 to be distributed at more than 60 stores in the state.

In addition to an increased vaccine supply from the federal government, Gov. Hutchinson also said Tuesday during his weekly COVID-19 briefing he will not extend beyond Feb. 3 the 11 p.m. required closing of bars.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Tuesday he had an “optimistic” call with the White House COVID-19 coordinator on receiving more vaccines, saying that a consistent and increasing supply is needed for more efficient vaccine distribution.

On a day U.S. COVID-19 deaths topped 400,000, new confirmed and probable cases in Arkansas continued a downward trend with 1,331 cases reported Tuesday, well below the 3,209 reported the previous Tuesday.

The Arkansas Department of Health also reported that confirmed and active cases fell by 1,854 to 20,940. Unfortunately, deaths rose by 43 to 4,386. The ADH also reported 50 available ICU beds as of 2 p.m. Tuesday, down from 57 on Monday.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Tuesday said the state will accelerate vaccine availability for older Arkansans and those in education. The updated vaccine push comes as University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences modeling predicts more than 5,000 COVID-19 deaths by Feb. 28.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Thursday used his first primetime television address while in the state’s top office to essentially repeat pleas for Arkansans to wear masks, follow other health safety rules, and be smart about holiday gatherings.

With hospitalizations continuing to set new daily records, Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Tuesday discussed changes to the state’s trauma system to coordinate COVID-19 care, and efforts to expedite bringing teachers into the state’s beleaguered public schools.

It’s not a pretty picture. Updated University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences COVID-19 modeling suggests the virus will hit the state harder before it, ideally, relents. Apathy and COVID fatigue are primary causes of “increasing pressure” on hospitals, according to UAMS.

“Taking all statistics presented in this report as a whole, we conclude COVID-19 in Arkansas has entered a phase of community spread in which the virus is so prevalent it can no longer be associated with a person or a place,” noted the UAMS report posted Tuesday.

With daily COVID-19 cases topping 2,000 for the first time, Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Friday (Nov. 13) announced a “winter task force” to focus on hospital resources and workers. Business restrictions and statewide school closings, however, are still opposed by Gov. Hutchinson.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Tuesday that the COVID-19 outbreak in the White House has caused Arkansans to be more serious about the virus and has encouraged Arkansans to “never forget the virus that continues to be part of this emergency and the reason for it.”