Large outdoor venues and places of worship will be able to reopen beginning today, Monday, May 4, 2020. Several restrictions apply (see below).

1:30 PM

Cumulative Confirmed Cases: 3,458

Deaths: 81

Recovered: 2,016

Total Active Cases: 1,361

Total Tested: 52,890*

*Updated this morning

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45 nursing homes where there are at least one resident or staff member with COVID-19. 31 of the deaths have been from nursing home residents; 245 nursing home residents, 147 staff have been infected;

Source: ADH Website, Governor’s press conference

11:00 AM

NEA County Numbers:

Randolph County: 18 positive, 14 recoveries, 544 negative
Clay County: 3 positive, 0 recoveries, 253 negative
Cleburne County: 73 positive, 67 recoveries, 170 negative, 4 deaths
Craighead County: 81 positive, 48 recoveries, 1,085 negative, 0 death
Crittenden County: 197 positive, 144 recoveries, 1,115 negative, 5 deaths
Fulton County: 1 positive, 0 recoveries, 90 negative
Greene County: 19 positive, 11 recoveries, 726 negative
Independence County: 10 positive, 9 recoveries, 193 negative
Jackson County: 1 positive, 1 recoveries, 83 negative
Lawrence County: 66 positive, 27 recoveries, 279 negative, 4 deaths
Mississippi County: 20 positive, 8 recoveries, 219 negative
Poinsett County: 23 positive, 11 recoveries, 128 negatives
Sharp County: 9 positives, 3 recoveries, 64 negative
Don’t see your county? Click here to find it on ADH’s map.

1:30 PM

United States: 1,171,041 positive

68,285 have died. 180,303 have recovered.

Global: 3,559,225 positive

249,520 have died. 1,143,667 have recovered.

Source: Johns Hopkins University.

Tracking the Growth

The latest numbers have been added to graphics by our friend Dr. Pat Carroll, who is helping us track new cases and active cases by date.

ASU System Announces Intent for In-Person Fall Classes

LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas State University System’s six current institutions, as well as future member Henderson State University, intend to return to in-person classes on campuses this fall as part of the Covid-19 pandemic recovery, President Chuck Welch announced today.

Guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and the Arkansas Department of Health will be used to formulate all plans in the coming weeks with a focus on maximum health and safety measures for students, faculty, staff and campus visitors. The plans will include reopening residence halls at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, Arkansas State University-Beebe and Henderson State, Welch said.

“Our chancellors and their response teams have done a tremendous job guiding our employees and students through this difficult time,” Welch said. “Students have made clear they are eager to return to campus and their traditional classes. We want to move in that direction carefully with a focus on keeping everyone as safe and healthy as possible.”

Federal and state guidelines are expected to evolve over the next few months, Welch said, so he has asked the institutions to consider multiple scenarios and plan to be flexible regarding local needs and situations.

“Safety measures for fall classes that we develop in the next few weeks may be very different by August,” Welch said. “We don’t want to rush with a definitive plan now knowing state and federal guidelines are being changed in phases. While we can’t realistically expect complete campus normalcy this fall, we will make every effort to ensure our students have the best possible experiences on campus under the difficult circumstances.”

Each ASU System institution has a Covid-19 website page with information regarding campus updates on various topics, summer classes, commencement and other issues. They can be found at:

Arkansas State University – https://www.AState.edu/Coronavirus
ASU-Beebe – http://www.asub.edu/coronavirus-information/index.aspx
ASU-Mountain Home – https://asumh.edu/pages/main/535/safety
ASU-Newport – https://www.asun.edu/coronavirus
ASU Mid-South – https://www.asumidsouth.edu/student-information/
ASU Three Rivers – http://asutr.edu
Henderson State University – https://www.hsu.edu/pages/coronavirus/

The Arkansas State University System, based in Little Rock, serves almost 40,000 students annually on campuses in Arkansas and Queretaro, Mexico, and globally online. The ASU System includes Arkansas State University, a four-year Carnegie R2 research institution in Jonesboro with degree centers in Beebe, Mountain Home, Blytheville, Forrest City, and West Memphis, as well as Campus Queretaro in Mexico.

The system’s two-year college institutions include ASU-Beebe, with additional campuses in Heber Springs and Searcy and an instructional site at Little Rock Air Force Base; ASU-Newport, with additional campuses in Jonesboro and Marked Tree; ASU-Mountain Home; ASU Mid-South in West Memphis; and ASU Three Rivers (formerly College of the Ouachitas) in Malvern.

Under a merger and transition agreement finalized on Dec. 6, 2019, Henderson State will become a system member pending Higher Learning Commission approval.

press release

Secretary of Health’s COVID-19 Dental Advisory Group to meet

Little Rock, Ark. – In consultation with Governor Asa Hutchinson, Secretary of Health Dr. Nate Smith has named a COVID-19 Dental Advisory Group to provide input from the dental community regarding resuming dental services in Arkansas.

The group will meet May 5, 2020, at 3 p.m. Two representatives from the Arkansas State Board of Dental Examiners, Arkansas State Dental Association, and the Arkansas State Dental Hygiene Association have been named to the advisory group.

Arkansas State Board of Dental Examiners
Fred Church, DDS, MS (Chairman)
Cara Jones, DDS, MS (Member Delegate)

Arkansas State Dental Association
R. Pierce Osborne, II, DDS (President)
Ernie Woodward, DDS, MS (Member Delegate)

Arkansas State Dental Hygiene Association
Jennifer Stain, RDH (President)
Bridget Fitzhugh, RDH (Member Delegate)

Dr. Smith and Governor Hutchinson will also join the meeting. Jose Romero, MD, Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) Chief Medical Officer, and Lindy Bollen, Jr., DDS, Director of the ADH Office of Oral Health, will lead the discussion.