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Honoring Arkansas’ Fallen

Memorial Day will be different this year. The threat of the coronavirus will limit the large gatherings of people who typically come together at ceremonies.But the virus cannot stop us from taking a moment of private reflection to honor the sacrifice of our men and women in uniform who died protecting freedom.Arkansas was and is […]
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Covid-19 Response Update for May 22, 2020

The Health Department was able to do contact tracing on 60% of the new cases reported yesterday. Contact tracers were able to conclude that 24% of the community cases had known contact with a previous case. They were also able to conclude that half of the new cases from Washington County came from just three […]
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Covid-19 Response Update for May 21, 2020

There are 455 new cases of COVID-19 being reported in the last 24 hours. It is the largest single-day increase so far. Health Secretary Dr. Nate Smith says of those, 229 are from correctional facilities and 226 are in the community.Of the community cases, 33 were reported in  Yell County, 26 in Washington County, 27 […]
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Covid-19 Response Update for May 20, 2020

Of the active cases in the state, 85 are in nursing homes, 315 in correctional facilities, and 644 in the community.The Governor is in Washington DC today meeting with the President and Vice-President to discuss Arkansas’ COVID-19 response and issues facing the food supply chain since a number of food processors are located in the […]
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Covid-19 Response Update for May 19, 2020

The Governor announced today that all nursing home residents and staff in Arkansas will be tested. The state-wide testing will begin June 1. It is expected to take one month to complete all the testing.The number of active cases in nursing homes continues to decline. 72 nursing home residents have recovered.State-wide, there are 110 new […]
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Covid-19 Response Update for May 18, 2020

Of the 1068 active cases in Arkansas, Health Secretary Dr. Nate Smith says 378 are in correctional facilities, 99 are in nursing homes and 591 are in the community.The Governor announced today that bars affiliated with restaurants can open tomorrow with restrictions to be issued by the Arkansas Department of Health. Free-standing bars (those not […]
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Official State Holiday Bulletin: Memorial Day

The State of Arkansas will observe Memorial Day as an official state holiday on Monday, May 25, 2020.   The State Capitol building & offices and all state buildings will be closed. The Capitol Cafe (500 Grill), and the Capitol Gift Shop will also be closed. Due to current COVID-19 precautions, the State Capitol remains […]
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Covid-19 Response Update for May 15, 2020

Of the 97 new additional cases reported today, 18 are from correctional facilities. The cases from the community were reported in Jefferson, Crittenden, Pope, Pulaski, and St. Francis counties. The state is nearly half-way to the goal of testing 60,000 Arkansans during the month of May. The Arkansas Department of Health says in addition to […]
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Mental Health Awareness

The COVID-19 pandemic could be a source of stress, fear, or anxiety for many Arkansans. May is Mental Health Awareness Month and a good time to remind Arkansans of the resources available to help during this time.If you currently visit a provider for mental health services, these services can now be accessed by telephone or […]
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Covid-19 Response Update for May 14, 2020

The number of new cases of COVID-19 increased by 130 since yesterday. Of those 17 are from correctional facilities. The remaining cases were reported from Union, Craighead, Pulaski, Washington and Jefferson counties.Commerce Secretary Mike Preston said the department has received close to 30,000 applications for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA). This is the unemployment available to […]
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Covid-19 Response Update for May 13, 2020

Governor Hutchinson shared a map showing where the active COVID-19 cases are located in the state broken down by county. The county with the most active cases is St. Francis, where the Forrest City federal prison is located. Pulaski County, which is also the state’s most populous, has the second-most number of cases. Pulaski and […]
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Covid-19 Response Update for May 12, 2020

The state has received a shipment of the COVID-19 drug Remdesivir from the CDC. There is currently enough for 50 patients and it will be distributed by the Arkansas Department of Health. Governor Hutchinson says he will make an announcement on these openings on the following dates:·       May 18 – Bars·   […]