By Ray King
Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson on Tuesday said he believed it was important to have a state-wide policy in relation to dealing with the Corona virus, again rejecting calls for a mandatory stay-at-home policy statewide.
At his daily press conference on COVID-19, the governor was responding to a question that Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott was asked about such a policy.
Scott said while such a policy might work in his city, it might not in other cities but did admit he had asked the governor to institute one.
Hutchinson said the state has relaxed some of its requirements and allowed Mayors and County Judges to impose curfews and take other actions as long as they tell his office what they are doing.
“Curfews and practicing social distancing are part of what is bringing us success,” he said.
In his daily update, the Governor said there are currently 946 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Arkansas, that is an increase of 71 from Monday. There are 74 people hospitalized, the same number as on Monday, and there have been two more deaths, bringing the state total to 18. Both of those who died were over the age of 65.
State Health Officer Dr. Nate Smith said 134 of the cases involve health care workers, that’s 12 more than yesterday.
He also updated the figures for the Federal Correctional Institute at Forrest City, where there are now 24 inmates and five correctional officers. He said officials from the CDC (Center for Disease Control) were expected to arrive on site Tuesday night and they will meet with state health officials Wednesday.
The Governor also reported that more than 1,400 were tests conducted during the last 24 hours which is the largest number that have been conducted so far and later Smith said 1.6 percent of those tests were positive.
