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pandemic in Arkansas, United States
The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the U.S. state of Arkansas in March 2020. The first case in Arkansas was reported on March 11, 2020, in Pine Bluff, Jefferson County. As of March 2022, there were 819,984 cumulative cases of COVID-19 with a total of 10,524 deaths.
As of March 1, 2022, Arkansas has fully vaccinated 1,566,786 people, or 54% of the population.
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The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the U.S. state of Arkansas in March 2020. The first case in Arkansas was reported on March 11, 2020, in Pine Bluff, Jefferson County. As of March 2022, there were 819,984 cumulative cases of COVID-19 with a total of 10,524 deaths.
As of March 1, 2022, Arkansas has fully vaccinated 1,566,786 people, or 54% of the population.
On March 11, Governor Asa Hutchinson confirmed the state's first presumptive positive coronavirus case in Pine Bluff.
On March 12, five more presumptive cases were reported, four of which had contact with the original Pine Bluff case, prompting the governor to order school closings in Grant, Jefferson, Pulaski, and Saline counties. The original Pine Bluff case likely became infected in New Orleans during Mardi Gras.
On March 13, Governor Hutchinson announced three more presumptive cases in the state, including the first instance of community spread. He recommended not to hold gatherings of more than 200 people in the counties with affected cases.
In early March, a rural pastor and his wife attended church events, without knowing they already had the virus, resulting in 35 cases among 92 church attendees, 7 hospitalizations, and 3 deaths. Secondary contacts had 26 additional cases and one death.
On March 15, Governor Hutchinson reported during a press conference that all public schools would close beginning Tuesday, March 17, with the option of closing Monday, March 16, if they were prepared. Schools would remain closed through spring break the following week. Earlier in the day, the Arkansas Department of Health's website was updated to show that there were 16 confirmed cases in the state.
On March 16, Governor Hutchinson recommended that the number of people in events should be limited to 50, per CDC guidelines. He also discouraged unnecessary out-of-state travel. A pastor and his wife in a rural church was confirmed to have COVID-19 after church services held March 6–11. Of the 92 attendees of church services, 35 were confirmed to be infected and three died. The Arkansas Department of Health worked with the church and used contact tracing to identify an additional 26 people confirmed to have the virus, one of which died.
On March 17, Governor Hutchinson ordered all casinos closed for two weeks and said that for the next 30 days, the one-week waiting period and work reporting requirement to receive unemployment benefits would be waived.
On March 18, Governor Hutchinson said the state was working to allocate $12 million in federal Community Development Block Grant funds, aiming to target hospitals and other businesses essential to the coronavirus response. Additionally, he said he would allocate $4 million from the state's Quick Action Closing Fund which would provide loans of up to $250,000 to help businesses make payroll and stay open. The state also requested a disaster declaration from the Small Business Administration which would help provide loans of up to $2 million to provide capital for businesses. The state is also relaxed SNAP work requirements through May.
On March 19, the state government stated public schools would remain closed through April 17; restaurants and bars would not be allowed to provide dine-in services but could still provide carryout, curbside pickup, or delivery, beginning March 20; state government employees would begin remote work; healthcare providers would begin screening all visitors and staff for fever and symptoms; and indoor venues such as gyms would be closed to visitors.
On March 20, thirteen new cases were reported that were connected to a nursing home in Little Rock where four staff and nine residents tested positive. Education Secretary Johnny Key said that the state would apply for a federal government waiver to standardized testing requirements. Attorney General Leslie Rutledge said an additional $3 million would be added to the loan program for small businesses that the governor announced on March 18. Col. John Schuette, installation commander of the Little Rock Air Force Base, announced that an active-duty U.S. Air Force airman assigned to the base tested positive. A 30-day public health emergency for the base was declared.
On March 21, the state projected the spread of the virus would peak in 6 to 8 weeks, at which time there would be an estimated 1,000 Arkansans hospitalized with the disease.
On March 22, Arkansas reported that the state received 25 percent of the PPE requested from the federal government's national stockpile. 8,000 to 10,000 Arkansans had filed for unemployment in the previous week. Due to such a high number of claims, Governor Hutchinson said he would ask the Arkansas General Assembly to approve $1.1 million from the rainy day fund for upgrades to the unemployment system. Secretary of Commerce Mike Preston said the Arkansas Economic Development Commission had received around 300 calls and emails inquiring about the business loans the governor had outlined earlier in the week.
The individual income tax filing deadline was moved to July 15 and Governor Hutchinson planned to call for a special legislative session to deal with expected budget shortfalls due to the pandemic. Corporate taxes would still be due April 15. Governor Hutchinson expected an estimated $353 million shortfall for the state budget. Barber shops, beauty and nail salons, massage parlors, and tattoo shops were ordered closed beginning Tuesday, March 24. In Cleburne County, a deacon for a local church said that 34 people who attended an event at the church had tested positive and others were awaiting results.
The first death in the state was reported on March 24, a 91-year-old male from Faulkner County. In his daily press conference, Governor Hutchinson reported that a second death had also occurred, a 59-year-old male from Sherwood. Governor Hutchinson reaffirmed that he did not want to issue a shelter-in-place order like other states had despite saying the state was still in the beginning stages of its outbreak. Both Governor Hutchinson and Dr. Nate Smith remarked that April 12 would be too early for the state to return to normal operations, which is the date U.S. president Donald Trump had targeted during an interview earlier in the day.
On March 25, the ADH issued a recommendation that all travelers from New York and all international travelers should self-quarantine for 14 days. On March 26, the state reported its third death from the virus, a 73-year-old male from Cleburne County. Governor Hutchinson announced a $116 million plan to provide support for healthcare workers in the state, with $91 million coming from the federal government. This plan would provide nurses an additional $1,000 a month with that number rising to $2,000 a month for nurses treating a COVID-19 patient.
On March 28, the state confirmed two more deaths, bringing the total to five. Both cases were in central Arkansas, with one person being in their 70s and the other in their 40s. The number of unemployment claims for the previous week were a record 30,000, an increase from the 9,400 the previous week.
On March 30, the state reported its seventh death, an 83-year-old woman infected in a nursing home in Little Rock. The state legislative leaders approved Governor Hutchinson's request to use $45 million from the newly created COVID-19 rainy-day fund. These funds would primarily be used for the purchase of personal protective equipment (PPE).
Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism Secretary Stacy Hurst, in an effort to limit out-of-state tourists, announced that state parks would no longer allow overnight stays and would limit the number of available parking spaces. Certain trails at Petit Jean State Park and Pinnacle Mountain State Park were deemed problematic and closed. Governor Hutchinson made a recommendation to the United States Secretary of the Interior, David Bernhardt, that the Buffalo National River be closed. State Rep. Reginald Murdock of Marianna announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19.
On April 2, Governor Hutchinson defended his decision to not order a shelter-in-place, arguing that the steps the state had taken were enough and that an official order to close non-essential businesses would put at least 100,000 more Arkansans out of work. Wendy Kelly, director of the Arkansas Department of Correction, announced that the state's prisoners would be manufacturing cloth masks for the prison system, with an expectation of 80,000 masks being produced. A second member of the state legislature, Rep. Vivian Flowers of Pine Bluff, tested positive.
On April 4, Governor Hutchinson signed an executive order limiting the types of guests that can stay at hotels, motels, and vacation rentals to: healthcare professionals; first responders; law enforcement; state or federal employees on official business; National Guard members on active duty; airline crew members; patients of hospitals and their families; journalists; persons unable to return to their home due to COVID-19 travel restrictions; Arkansas citizens unable to return to their home due to exigent circumstances, such as fire, flood, tornado, or other disaster; persons in need of shelter due to domestic violence or homelessness; employees of hotels, motels, or other service providers/contractors of a hotel or motel; and persons away from their home due to work or work-related travel. He added that the state had seen a 40 percent reduction in travel since the beginning of the emergency. The Arkansas National Guard work at delivery of Personal Protection Equipment to designated healthcare facilities.
On April 6, Governor Hutchinson announced that schools would remain closed for the remainder of the school year. He also announced that the state would send five ventilators to Louisiana to help with their spread of the disease, saying Arkansas has around 800 ventilators with about 550 not being used.
On April 28, Secretary Hurst announced that beginning May 1, Arkansas residents with self-contained campers would be allowed to return to state parks, and that overnight cabins and lodges would reopen for weekend stays for in-state residents beginning May 15, along with restaurants and food service within parks, museums, exhibits, and visitors centers.
On April 29, Governor Hutchinson said that restaurants may choose to reopen on May 11 at one-third of their capacity along with other restrictions. Bars, bars within restaurants, and entertainment at restaurants would not be allowed to reopen. He announced a $15 million grant program to help business pay for expenses related to reopening with the funds coming from money the state received from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. On April 30, he further announced that gyms and athletic clubs could reopen on May 4 with sanitation and social distancing measures. Showers, pools, spas, and saunas would continue to be banned from use.
On May 4, Governor Hutchinson announced that large indoor venues could reopen on May 18 for audiences of fewer than 50, with strict social distancing protocols among those in attendance and performers. On May 23, Governor Hutchinson cautioned Arkansas residents to maintain social distancing on Memorial Day weekend when a cluster of coronavirus cases occurred after a high school swim party that month.
On June 15, Governor Hutchinson moved Arkansas into Phase 2 of reopening, allowing businesses to fill up to two thirds capacity. This resulted in a spike of over 3000 new cases.
On June 16, the city of Fayetteville published a mask mandate due to the recent spike in cases.
On July 11, Arkansas saw its biggest one-day jump to date in cases with 1,061 new reported infections.
On July 20, University of Arkansas Chancellor Joe Steinmetz announced that the university will be providing personal protection kits to all students and faculty preceding the Fall 2020 semester. He also announced the continued offering of hybrid courses and enforcement of mask requirements on campus facilities.
During the month of July, Arkansas saw a 63% increase in deaths and an 84% increase in hospitalizations, greatly exceeding the national average of only a 19% increase in deaths in July.
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