The Arkansas Department of Health is reporting 787 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hour monitoring period. There were an additional 11 deaths, adding up to a total of 475. The state ended July with more than 194,000 performed tests, just short of the 200,000 goal. Sebastian County once again recorded the most new cases with 87. Washington County had 66 new cases and Benton County had 42. Governor Asa Hutchinson also announced Arkansas has received 100 new antigen testing machines and another 100 more are on order, but the state has not yet received any testing kits, which are necessary to use them. The governor said the Health Department plans to assign these quick turnaround tests to the public units around the state, so they can be used by Arkansas's K-12 educational systems. The state's goal in August is to perform 190,000 PCR tests and 10,000 antigen tests. Hutchinson said he's concerned about the state's overall positivity rate, which has hovered around 10 percent for the past week. Acting Secretary of Health Dr. Jose Romero also discussed the importance of not forgoing getting the influenza vaccine. To watch the full briefing, click here.
State Receives Antigen Testing Machines, But Still Needs Test Kits
