NWA Sees Lower COVID-19 Case Numbers, National Guard Training Cancelled

The latest numbers of new cases of COVID-19 in Northwest Arkansas are lower than previous days. Governor Asa Hutchinson announced at his daily press briefing in Little Rock. Today's 420 new cases bring the state’s cumulative total to more than 21,000. Washington County reported 48 new cases and Benton County reported 20. The number of active cases in Arkansas, 5,757, is also lower in day-to-day comparisons, but Arkansas Secretary of Health Dr. Nate Smith says nobody should mistake any positive news for a reason to disregard COVID-19 as a very serious, potentially fatal virus. He also warned of severe neurological complications and potentially harmful heart problems that could lead to congestive heart failure. In an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, a National Guard training exercise at Fort Chaffee in Fort Smith that had been scheduled for this weekend and would have involved almost 4,000 guardsmen from around the country has been cancelled. To hear the governor's full briefing, click here.