Record Day for Arkansas and Vaccines Headed to Missouri

covid-update

 Arkansas set a new record one-day increase in coronavirus cases on Thursday as Gov. Asa Hutchinson said he’s looking at requiring state approval for smaller indoor events.

Arkansas’ confirmed and probable virus cases increased by 2,789 to 164,310, according to the state Department of Health. Thursday’s one-day increase was the biggest the state has seen since it reported 2,348 new cases on Thanksgiving.

The state’s COVID-19 deaths rose by 33 to 2,555.

Hutchinson, who has resisted calls to close bars or further scale back restaurants’ capacity, said the state may reduce the size of indoor gatherings that would require state approval. Under the state’s current coronavirus restrictions, indoor events with more than 100 people expected must have a plan approved beforehand by the state.

The governor also announced that the state is requesting the Federal Emergency Management Administration allocate the state 10 beds from the Veterans Administration hospital in Little Rock to help with the surge surge in virus cases.

Arkansas’ COVID-19 hospitalizations, after four days of hitting new record highs, decreased on Thursday by 16 to 1,072.

 

Missouri’s health department director on Thursday announced that the state is expected to get coronavirus vaccines for about 170,000 additional people this month.

Director Randall Williams said 64,000 Pfizer vaccines and an additional 105,000 from Moderna are scheduled to arrive around Dec. 21. The state is expecting an initial 51,000 doses from Pfizer sometime before then.

Missouri is following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to give the vaccine to health care workers and nursing home staff first.

The news follows the Wednesday release of an independent review that found Missouri veterans homes didn’t act take the COVID-19 virus seriously enough, act quickly enough or plan well enough to prevent its spread.

Statewide, the Department of Health and Senior Services as of Thursday reported at least 18,437 new coronavirus cases over the past week, or roughly 2,634 new cases a day on average. Ninety-eight deaths were reported in the last seven days.

In Oregon County, there have been 2 Covid-19 related deaths this week.