The number of active cases of COVID-19 in Carroll County and across the state continue to climb, according to a report issued by the Arkansas Department of Health on Friday, July 15.
On July 8, the ADH reported 112 active cases of COVID-19 in Carroll County, the first time in months the number of active cases had topped 100. On July 15, the state health department reported 135 active cases in Carroll County, and an increase of 72 new cases in seven days. The state health department reported 77 active cases on June 24 and 59 on June 17.
Statewide, the number of active cases reported July 15 was 15,856 — up from the previous week’s reported total of 14,143 — and an increase of 8,131 in the overall case count, an increase of 50,203 new cases since April 4.
No new COVID-related deaths were reported locally, leaving the countywide death toll from the novel coronavirus at 106. Statewide, the number of deaths increased by 16 since July 8, rising to a reported 11,624 on July 15.
The overall case count in Carroll County increased to 6,473 since the pandemic began, along with 6,232 “recoveries,” meaning they are no longer being monitored by the health department. Statewide, the number of confirmed cases now stands at 883,331 with 855,702 recoveries.
On July 15, the state health department reported 376 COVID-positive hospital admissions, with 64 in intensive care. Of those, 18 required the aid of a ventilator.
On July 8, the number of hospitalizations was 302, with 54 in intensive care and eight on a ventilator.
Since the pandemic began, hospitalizations in Arkansas have included 1,455 children under the age of 18 — an increase of 14 in seven days — including 175 who had been in intensive care.
On July 15, the state health department reported 2,216 active cases among children — up from the 1,783 reported July 1 — nearly 14 percent of the statewide total.
The age group with the most active cases was 65-and-older with 3,209, followed by those 25-34 with 2,475 and those 35-44 with 2,244, all of which are up since July 8. The 45-54 age group is close behind with 2,124 reported active cases.
Since Jan. 1, the number of overall cases of the novel coronavirus in the state has increased by 318,789, 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 July 15 the number of Arkansans aged 5 and older who are fully vaccinated had increased to 1,644,856 1,643,260 — a total of 136,818 since Jan. 1 — with another 286,615 listed as partially vaccinated and 775,213 listed as having received a thirddose booster.
Combined, those numbers represent approximately 67.9 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 July 15, that number had increased to a reported 35,427 doses.
According to the state health department, 53.7 percent of Carroll County residents aged 5 and older have been fully immunized and another 7.3 percent are partially immunized. Combined, those numbers represent approximately 61 percent of the county’s eligible population.
