Arkansas has been declared an epicenter for the Delta Variant of the COVID-19 virus with as many as 1,200 new cases being reported per day in the past week.
Yahoo Business Insider released an article Friday, July 9, stating that Arkansas has seen the highest spike in coronavirus cases in nearly five months. State health officials cite the low vaccination rate in Arkansas as a major cause for the recent increase in new cases.
Less than 43 percent of the state’s population has received at least one shot, while only 34 percent of Arkansans have been fully vaccinated. This places the state among the lowest in the nation. Department of Health Director Dr. Jose Romero stated that his department is struggling to convince people to take the vaccine. Even though shots are being offered at places of work the demand is low.
Medical officials have stressed that vaccines are necessary in the fight against the Delta Variant of COVID-19 which is easier to catch than former strains of the virus. Data compiled by Scripps Reearch’s Outbreak.info suggests that the Delta Variant may account for more than 80 percent of Arkansas’ new infections. This is among the highest shares of Delta infections in the country.
There have been 5,648 new cases in Arkansas in the past seven days with 7,255 active cases being reported Tuesday morning. There have been 357,473 cumulative cases, 344,188 recoveries and 5,955 deaths.
Montgomery County is reporting five new cases in the past week with six active cases currently reported. There have been 772 cumulative cases, 733 recoveries and 33 deaths reported in the county.
Garland County’s active case numbers have exploded with 319 active cases being reported. This is an increase of 172 in the past week. They have reported 276 new cases in the past seven days. There are currently 10,917 cumulative cases, 10,331 recoveries and 266 deaths.
Hot Spring County is reporting 135 active cases, a decrease of eight since last Tuesday. They have had 5,510 cumulative cases, 5,296 recoveries and 78 deaths.
Clark County is reporting 73 active cases and 57 new cases in the past week. They are reporting 2,290 cumulative cases, 2,176 recoveries and 40 deaths.
Scott County is reporting a spike in active cases with 46. This is a 61 percent increase over last Tuesday’s total of 18. They have had 33 new cases since in the past seven days. They are reporting 1,021 cumulative cases, 961 recoveries and 14 deaths.
Howard County is reporting 11 active cases and 12 new cases in the past week. They have had 1,701 cumulative cases, 1,665 recoveries and 25 deaths.
Pike County is reporting 18 active cases and 14 new cases. They have had 1,062 cumulative cases, 1,021 recoveries and 23 deaths.
Polk County is reporting 16 active cases and 11 new cases in the past week. They have had 2,056 cumulative cases, 1,965 recoveries and 74 deaths.
Yell County is reporting 15 active cases and 13 new cases. They have had 3,481 cumulative cases, 3,399 recoveries and 66 deaths.
