ARKANSAS COVID RISE— On Monday Arkansas had its biggest one day jump in people hospitalized with COVID-19, the state health department figures revealed The number of Arkansans hospitalized with COVID-19 jumped by 184 to 1,817, the highest number since the pandemic began in 2020, Yesterday that number dropped a little to under 1800. Data also shows infection rates in most age groups have begun to trend downward in Arkansas, and the 65-and-older group’s infection rate is flattening. But at a press conference yesterday Arkansas Secretary of Health Dr. Jose Romero said COVID-19 infections will continue to stress the healthcare system and urged everyone to get vaccinated, especially children.
"On the pediatric front, I want to point out that we have that during this particular spike, the surge, exceeded the highwater mark for hospitalizations in children," Romero said. "So they, although the numbers are going down, other children are still going to be infected. We're going to have more numbers, more children being infected and that number will exceed where we are today."
Dr. Romero said that while infection rates are trending downward, the death rates haven’t and explained they have instead “plateaued”. The Arkansas American Rescue Plan Act Steering Committee approved using $4.7 million in federal funds to open up 20 more hospital beds and seven intensive care unit beds to treat COVID-19 patients at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock.