Local COVID-19 case total hits 16,000

County sees first virus-related fatality in over a month to close out October

By Ralph Hardin

ralphhardin@gmail.com

While most of the world has moved into a post-pandemic mindset, data shows that COVID-19 is still a threat to the public health.

Crittenden County reached a new milestone in the pandemic, now closing in on three years, when the local number of confirmed cases of the virus reached 16,000 on Wednesday after six new cases were reported.

Daily averages for the county remain low, only reaching into double digits twice (Oct. 6 and Oct. 28) last month. But the reality that COVID-19 is still here was evident when the first local coronavirus-related fatality of the the month was reported on Oct, 29, the first since Sept. 28.

Statewide, Arkansas is still seeing close to 300 new cases each day, with a twoweek rollilng average of 278 cases over the past 14 days. The state saw 13 deaths on Oct. 30, and Arkansas averaged nine COVID-19 deaths per day over the course of last month. To date, 12,502 Arkansans have died as a result of the virus and its variants since March of 2020 when the first COVID-19 cases were recorded in the state.

Arkansas Department of Health officials continue to stress the importance of getting the COVID-19 vaccine and follow-up booster shots. According to the latest ADH COVID-19 update released on Wednesday, more than 75% of Arkansas residents have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Neighboring Craighead County has been at or near the top of new COVID-19 cases among Arkansas counties for the past several weeks, including 166 new cases last week.

Pulaskit County had 226 and Washington County saw 113 in the same period.