Arkansas COVID-19

Coronavirus activity continues to rise in Arkansas as the state sees another record increase in new infections.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced the uptick of 375 new coronavirus cases Tuesday and three additional deaths from COVID-19. Those increases bring the state’s total number of cases to 7,818 and deaths to 136.

Over 650 Arkansans have tested positive for the coronavirus since last Friday as the number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 rises to 121.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Monday the state saw 190 new coronavirus cases since Sunday, bringing the total to 7,443. No new deaths from COVID-19 were reported with the state’s death toll remaining at 133.

Speaking during his daily briefing on the pandemic in Rogers, Hutchinson said the resurgence in cases means the state will not move to a second phase of easing restrictions on businesses in the near future.

Arkansas has seen a second day of over 200 new coronavirus cases as COVID-19 hospitalizations surpass the state’s previous peak in April.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Friday that 239 people tested positive for the virus, bringing the state’s total caseload to 6,777. The number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized rose to 113, while seven more Arkansans died from the disease for a total of 132.

While the Arkansas Division of Workforce Services’ website where residents can apply for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, or PUA, is up and running, investigations are still ongoing over a past vulnerability in the site that left the financial data of thousands of Arkansans unprotected in mid-May.

KUAR spoke with Lindsey Millar, editor of the Arkansas Times about breaking the story of the flaw in the website and what followed. Below is the transcript of the edited interview that aired on KUAR.

The upward trend of COVID-19 cases in Arkansas’s Latino population continues as more than 40% of the state’s daily increase in new cases came from the state’s Latino communities.

Arkansas saw a rise of 261 new cases Thursday bringing the state’s total number of coronavirus cases to 6,538, according to the state Department of Health. Of those new cases, 110 were in Arkansas’s most northwest counties, with Benton County reporting 85 new positive test results and Washington County reporting 25.

Arkansas is nearing a second peak of the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients as 120 people have died from the disease.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Wednesday the state saw 97 new coronavirus cases, bringing the state’s total to 6,277. There was one additional death.

Coronavirus cases are on the rise among members of Arkansas’s Hispanic population as the state appears to be on track to reach a second peak of COVID-19 hospitalizations.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Tuesday the state saw an additional 151 coronavirus cases, bringing the state’s total to 6,180. Two more Arkansans died from COVID-19 bringing the state’s death toll to 119.

Some Arkansans are finding ways to date new people without risking spreading the coronavirus. KUAR spoke with three people who've tried to maintain a social life while practicing social distancing. The names used in this report are pseudonyms.

Daniel, Victor and Sharon, all in their early to mid-thirties, take official warnings regarding the coronavirus seriously. Despite that, they are among the many who haven't given up on dating during the coronavirus pandemic.

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, Arkansas paid tribute to members of the military Monday who have died in the line of duty. Gov. Asa Hutchinson spoke at a Memorial Day service at the Arkansas State Veterans Cemetery in North Little Rock which was not open to the public, but streamed online.

Another 160 known community cases of COVID-19 were reported Saturday, with 27% of those in Northwest Arkansas. Of the cases found since March 11, 13.4% have been in the past three days. 

Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Saturday during his COVID-19 briefing the state is in a second peak of positive cases. The first peak was around April 25.

“It’s clear and evident to me … we’ve had a deep dip and then we’re having a second peak right now and they’re really about 30 days apart,” Gov. Hutchinson said.

Arkansas has added 154 new coronavirus cases to its total following a record increase Thursday with three more deaths from COVID-19 bringing the state’s number of deaths to 113.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced the uptick at a press briefing Friday, saying the state has 5,612 total cases of the coronavirus with 1,470 considered active and 81 people hospitalized.

Hutchinson said certain factors, like the average positivity rate for coronavirus tests, point to the state being able to move to a second phase of lifting restrictions over the summer.

Arkansas has seen the largest single-day increase in new coronavirus cases since the pandemic began as three more deaths from COVID-19 brings the state’s death toll to 110.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Thursday the state saw 455 new positive test results for the virus, bringing the total number of people who have ever tested positive to 5,458.

Speaking in his daily briefing on the pandemic, Hutchinson said he would not reinstate business restrictions because of the increase.

Five more Arkansans have died from the disease caused by the coronavirus as the state’s total number of cases reaches 5,003.

Officials with the Arkansas Department of Health on Wednesday said four nursing home residents were among the state’s latest COVID-19 deaths, while 1,044 cases remain active.

Speaking during a press briefing at the Health Department, Health Secretary Dr. Nate Smith said Wednesday’s increase of 80 new cases was dispersed fairly evenly across the state.

The number of new coronavirus cases in Arkansas communities has increased for a fourth consecutive day as the state nears 5,000 people who have tested positive.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Tuesday that Arkansas saw two new deaths from COVID-19, bringing the state’s death toll to 102, while the total number of coronavirus cases has risen to 4,923.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson says the last businesses still closed due to the coronavirus pandemic can soon reopen even as the number of deaths from COVID-19 in Arkansas reached 100 on Monday.

This comes as Hutchinson says the Federal Bureau of Investigation is probing a possible security breach of the state’s online system for self-employed Arkansans to file for unemployment benefits.

As COVID-19 has disrupted plans and normalcy for workplaces, schools and public life over the last few months, it also brought a halt to long-discussed outreach efforts in Arkansas for the U.S. Census. But as businesses reopen, so too resumes a campaign to get residents to participate.

In 2019, Gov. Asa Hutchinson created the 2020 Complete Count Committee in an effort to maximize the accuracy this year. The committee, chaired by Fort Smith Mayor George McGill, is working to increase awareness of the census across the state.

Nearly all retail businesses forced to close due to the coronavirus pandemic can reopen by Monday as the number of people testing positive in Arkansas continues to rise.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Friday the state has a total of 4,463 coronavirus cases, an increase of 97 new cases since Thursday. The state’s death toll from COVID-19 remained unchanged Friday at 98.

The number of new coronavirus cases and people hospitalized with COVID-19 has risen for a second day in Arkansas as the state nears 100 deaths from the disease.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced an increase of 130 new cases Thursday, bringing the state’s total to 4,366. One additional death from COVID-19 brought the state’s death toll to 98.

Speaking in his daily briefing on the pandemic, Hutchinson said businesses in the state are not yet ready to enter a second phase of reopening.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson says Arkansas does not need additional federal funding to lessen the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the state’s economy.

This comes as the number of coronavirus cases rose by 72 Wednesday for a total of 4,236, while two more COVID-19 deaths brought the state’s total to 97.

Speaking in his daily briefing on the outbreak, Hutchinson said the $1.25 billion the state has received from the federal CARES Act is enough to bridge an expected loss in state revenue of over $200 million.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson says a lack of coronavirus testing at a federal prison is to blame for a sharp uptick in new cases in eastern Arkansas.

Speaking at his daily briefing Tuesday, Hutchinson announced 121 more people have tested positive for the virus in the state, bringing the total to 4,164. Another person has died, he said, with the death toll now at 95.