Hospital capacity adequate, Arkansas governor says; 572 new virus cases reported
LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Monday said that hospital capacity in the state is "adequate" as cases of the coronavirus continue rising,
His comments come after the state logged 1,061 new cases of the virus, a new daily record, on Saturday. The comments also come after University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Chancellor Dr. Cam Patterson expressed concern about hospital capacity during a TV news program. Patterson warned that UAMS Medical Center in Little Rock had a full intensive care unit and was "on the edge" of its capacity for virus patients. He said that hospitals across the state could reach capacity this fall if the virus continues spreading.
Hutchinson, speaking at a news conference Monday, said the state's hospital capacity is adequate but cautioned that "we don't want to strain the staff" with new cases or have to end elective procedures. He said that other hospitals around the state have said they're comfortable with their capacity.
There were 439 people in Arkansas hospitalized with the virus Monday, up 19 from the previous day. State Secretary of Health Dr. Nate Smith said officials will monitor that number closely.
"Although we continue to see increases in our number of currently hospitalized, it's not gotten to the point where we're looking to implement any of our contingency models that we put together back in March and April," he said.
A spokesperson for UAMS Medical Center clarified that it's not unusual for the hospital's ICU to be full and that not all ICU patients have COVID-19.
State officials on Monday reported 572 new cases of the virus, bringing the total to 28,939. There were 6,510 active cases of the virus. Among those recently infected are former Arkansas governor David Pryor and his wife Barbara.
Two new deaths were reported. A total of 323 people have now died from the virus.
Smith spent a portion of the news conference debunking misinformation about wearing protective masks. Despite evidence that shows protective coverings limit respiratory droplets from entering the air, some refuse to wear them or claim they are ineffective at slowing the spread of the virus.
"If we can get everyone to wear those masks, then we're all protected because we basically keep our respiratory droplets to ourselves rather than letting them go airborne," Smith said.
Hutchinson stressed the "urgency and importance" of wearing masks. He has not issued a statewide mandate requiring people to wear masks but has allowed cities to issue their own ordinances.
