Baxter County saw its number of COVID-19 cases spike Tuesday with 43 new cases reported. The county had 77 cases Tuesday afternoon, up from the 34 cases the state previously reported for Baxter County.
According to the Arkansas Department of Health, the state’s coronavirus count rose by 485 Tuesday. That number is the largest single-day increase for the state since March 5 and the first increase to top the 400 mark since March 12.
Stephanie Free, the infection prevention specialist for Baxter Regional Medical Center, talks about what could be behind the spike in local COVID-19 cases.
Listen:
Free describes what the common symptoms of the delta variant are.
Listen:
Free says the delta variant of COVID-19 is more infectious than previous strains of the virus.
Listen:
The Twin Lakes Area is known for its summer recreation opportunities, and Free says that people visiting the area on vacation could be one of the factors driving the rise in COVID rates. She also notes that people are not wearing face masks like they were several months ago.
Free thinks the area’s low vaccination rate is also behind the surge of area COVID cases.
Listen:
Baxter Regional officials report that the hospital’s emergency room is currently seeing three or four COVID-19 patients per day. At the height of the pandemic back in late November, the ER was seeing up to 28 COVID patients per day. Still, Free says people should not ignore the jump in cases.
Listen:
As of midday Tuesday, BRMC reported four patients with COVID-19. Three of those patients are in the ICU, and two of those are on ventilators. The hospital’s fourth COVID patient was in the surgical unit in an airborne isolation room.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI