Governor Delivers Coronavirus Briefing From Washington Regional Medical Center

At today's coronavirus response briefing, which Governor Asa Hutchinson delivered from Washington Regional Medical Center in Fayetteville, he announced the state reported 591 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24-hour monitoring period, but also received fewer than 4,000 tests results. There were six additional deaths, but 14 fewer hospitalizations. Dr. Jose Romero, Arkansas's acting health secretary, said the overall positivity rate in Washington County since testing began is 22 percent. He also discussed they types of cases the county is seeing and what makes them different from national trends. Dr. Larry Shackelford, the president and CEO of Washington Regional, and Eric Pinalto, president of Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas, were also present and were both happy to report the number of hospitalizations in both healthcare systems have decreased since a peak in cases a couple weeks ago. The briefing, one of the longest the governor has hosted since the started of the pandemic, also included comments about the upcoming school year, economic recovery and the 2020 census. To watch the full briefing, click here.