Another COVID-related death was reported in Carroll County last week, bringing the number of those who have died from complications related to the novel coronavirus to 106.
The additional death was accompanied by another jump in the number of active cases, with 77 reported Friday, June 24, by the Arkansas Department of Health, which reported 59 active cases on June 17.
Statewide, the number of deaths increased by 35 to a reported 11,568 on June 24. The number of active cases in Arkansas stood at 10,141, an increase of more than 2,000 since June 17.
The overall case count in Carroll County increased by 48 in seven days — up from the previous week, when 39 new cases were reported — rising to 6,292 since the pandemic began. Statewide, the number of new cases increased by 7,001 — up from the 5,535 new cases reported June 17 — an increase of 27,882 cases since April 4.
The two-year pandemic total for Arkansas now stands at 861,010 positive cases, with 839,153 cases listed as “recoveries,” meaning they are no longer being monitored by the health department. In Carroll County, the total number of cases includes 6,109 recoveries, an increase of 29 since June 17.
On June 24, the state health department reported 188 COVID-positive hospital admissions, with 32 in intensive care. Of those, 10 required the aid of a ventilator.
On June 17, the number of hospitalizations was 181, with 26 in intensive care and nine on a ventilator.
Since the pandemic began, hospitalizations in Arkansas have included 1,426 children under the age of 18, including 170 who had been in intensive care.
Last week, the state health department reported 1,242 active cases among children — up from the 858 reported June 17 — more than 12 percent of the statewide total.
The age group with the most active cases was 65-and-older with 2,151, followed by those 25-34 with 1,618 and those 45-54 with 1,421, all of which are up since June 10. The 35-44 age group is close behind with 1,396 reported active cases.
Since Jan. 1, the number of overall cases of the novel coronavirus in the state has increased by 301,494, with the majority of those occurring among unvaccinated individuals. The number of active cases in Arkansas this year peaked on Jan. 21, when 102,576 were reported.
On the vaccination front, the state health department reported June 24 the number of Arkansans aged 5 and older who are fully vaccinated had increased by 3,550 since June 17 — 112,884 since Jan. 1 — rising to 1,620,922. Another 285,973 were listed as partially vaccinated, while 685,830 had received a third-dose booster.
Combined, those numbers represent approximately 67.1 percent of Arkansans aged 5 and older.
In Carroll County, 29,783 doses of the various vaccines had been administered by Jan. 1. As of June 24, that number had increased to a reported 34,615 doses, including 79 since June 17.
According to the state health department, 53 percent of Carroll County residents aged 5 and older have been fully immunized and another 7.1 percent are partially immunized.
Combined, those numbers represent approximately 60.1 percent of the county’s population that is eligible to receive a vaccine.
