For the third consecutive week, another Carroll County resident has died from complications related to COVID-19, but the number of active cases continued to show a downward seven-day trend.
The additional death — included in the Aug. 5 report from the Arkansas Department of Health — raised the local death toll to 109 since the pandemic began. Statewide, the death toll attributed to the novel coronavirus increased by 46 during the seven-day period ending Aug. 5, rising to 11,745.
The additional deaths come as the number of active cases of COVID-19 in Carroll County and across the state show slight decreases.
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 Aug. 5, the state health department reported 87 active cases in the county — down significantly from the 132 reported July 29 — with an increase of 46 new cases, down from the 60 reported on July 29.
Statewide, the number of active cases reported July 29 was 13,920 — down from the previous week’s reported total of 16,012 — and an increase of 7,261 in the overall case count. Since April 4, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 has increased by 75,262.
The overall case count in Carroll County increased to 6,655 since the pandemic began, along with 6,459 “recoveries,” meaning they are no longer being monitored by the health department. Statewide, the number of confirmed cases now stands at 908,390 with 882,574 recoveries.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention downgraded Carroll County’s community transmission level in its weekly report to “low,” with a case rate of 176.18 per 100,000, with new COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 at 6.1 and 1.6 percent of staffed, inpatient beds in use by patients with confirmed COVID-19.
On Aug. 5, the state health department reported 404 COVID-positive hospital admissions, with 66 in intensive care. Of those, 19 required the aid of a ventilator.
On July 29, the number of hospitalizations was 417, with 84 in intensive care and 24 on a ventilator.
Since the pandemic began, hospitalizations in Arkansas have included 1,469 children under the age of 18 including 175 who had been in intensive care.
On July 29, the state health department reported 2,221 active cases among children — down from the 2,410 reported July 29 — more than 15.9 percent of the statewide total.
The age group with the most active cases was 65-and-older with 2,708, followed by those 25-34 with 2,110 and those 35-44 with 1,878, all of which are down slightly since July 29. The 55-64 age group is close behind with 1,783 reported active cases.
Since Jan. 1, the number of overall cases of the novel coronavirus in the state has increased by 335,248, 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 Aug. 5 the number of Arkansans aged 5 and older who are fully vaccinated had increased by 2,145 to 1,652,608 — a total of 144,569 since Jan. 1 — with another 287,982 listed as partially vaccinated and 806,312 listed as having received a third-dose booster.
Combined, those numbers represent approximately 68.2 percent of Arkansans aged 5 and older.
Locally, Eureka Springs Hospital hosted a vaccine clinic July 29. According to hospital officials, 53 Moderna boosters and 18 Pfizer boosters were administered to county residents.
“We are so thankful to help anyone who needs a COVID vaccine, whether it’s their first, second, third or fourth,” said hospital marketing director Samantha Jones. “Our vaccine clinics help us keep our community healthy and safe. If you ever have any questions, feel free to give us a call.”
Jones added that the hospital plans to host another vaccine clinic in the future, but that it has yet to be scheduled.
Countywide, the state health department reported 29,783 doses of the various vaccines had been administered by Jan. 1. As of Aug. 5, that number had increased to a reported 35,940 doses.
Approximately 54.1 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 61.4 percent of the county’s population that is eligible to receive a vaccine.
