July 29, 2020 2:25 p.m. — Gov. Asa Hutchinson delivered today's daily COVID-19 update from Arkansas Tech University in Russellville. Gov. Hutchinson reported the state has 40,968 positive cases, an increase of 787 from yesterday. Of those, 170 are in correctional facilities. Hospitalizations increased by 7 for a total of 508, a new record. Arkansas has 434 deaths related to the coronavirus, an increase of 6. In the last 24 hours, 4,519 tests were completed. Gov. Hutchinson said he's discouraged by the lower testing number. However, he said he was on a call with the White House yesterday where officials said they're working to ramp up testing in commercial labs in August.
Dr. Jennifer Dillaha, state epidemiologist with the Arkansas Department of Health, reported the state has 6,596 active cases. Of those, 80 are in nursing homes, 342 are in correctional facilities and 6,174 are in the community. There are 108 patients on ventilators, two less than yesterday. Chicot County had the most new cases with 152; however, 145 of those are related to a correctional facility. The counties with the next highest number of new cases are Pulaski County with 82, Sebastian County with 43 and Benton County with 33. Washington County has 22. Dr. Dillaha offered a summary of steps take when exposed or diagnosed with COVID-19:
*14 days of quarantine for those who've been exposed
*10 days of isolation if you have COVID-19 and have mild to moderate symptoms
*20 days of isolation if you've been in the hospital with COVID-19, have more severe symptoms, or have a weakened immune system.
You can watch the entire daily briefing here.