July 1, 2020 2:10 p.m. — In today's COVID-19 briefing, Gov. Hutchinson reported the state has 21,197 positive cases, an increase of 420 from yesterday. Of those, at least 33 are in correctional facilities. Hospitalizations decreased 15 for a total of 275. Arkansas has 277 deaths related to the coronavirus, an increase of 7. In the last 24 hours, 7,993 tests have been conducted. During the month of June, 180,595 tests were conducted, which represents about 6 percent of the population. Arkansas has 5,757 active cases, a decrease of 219. Gov. Hutchinson said that's the first time in a while the state has had a decrease in active cases.
Health Secretary Dr. Nate Smith said of the state's active cases 153 are in nursing homes, at least 525 are in correctional facilities and 5,079 are in the community. The counties with the most new cases are Lee County with 69, Pulaski County with 49, Washington County with 48, Yell County with 28 and Benton County with 20. Dr. Smith said of the 1,300 Arkansans who've ever been hospitalized, 177 or 13.6% have died (as of June 25). Of the 203 patients who've ever been on a ventilator, 94 or 46.3% have died (as of June 25).
Dr. Smith reported while people may recover from the respiratory symptoms of COVID-19, some are being affected by other issues like blood clots, neurological conditions and heart disease. Gov. Hutchinson said a National Guard training exercise scheduled for this weekend at Fort Chaffee has been canceled. The training would have involved nearly 4,000 guardsmen from multiple states. The governor said federal rules did not allow testing for each guardsmen, which Hutchinson said is important. He said additional exercises will be set up in the future.
You can watch the entire daily briefing here.
