LITTLE ROCK - Governor Hutchinson announced today that the number of cases of Coronavirus in the state of Arkansas has risen to 12. Three new cases were detected in Pine Bluff, where healthcare workers treating an infected patient at the Jefferson Regional Medical Center have now been infected as well.
According to UALR Public Radio, here are some of the items of note from Hutchinson’s briefing:
- The Arkansas Division of Emergency Management is activated to Level 1. The agency’s call center is fully operational and the joint information center is sharing information with emergency management crews in the counties.
- Arkansas officials are concerned about the lack of testing, and are certain there are other positive cases in Arkansas.
- The Arkansas Department of Health is working to acquire a new testing machine in the next week to boost testing capacity from 20 a day to 160 a day. The equipment will also help lab officials get test results back in 6 hours rather than several days.
- Officials are concerned with the safety of healthcare workers, and are asking people to not go to an emergency room or clinic if they think they have symptoms. If there is a spike in the number of COVID-19 patients, it will tax the system, especially if it results in infections among more health care workers.
- Arkansas Surgeon General Dr. Greg Bledsoe encouraged hospitals to develop methods to keep possible COVID-19 patients out of the general population. One example he cited is using a tent in a parking lot to screen possible patients before they enter a facility.
