In a press conference today, Governor Hutchinson said that the ADoH reported 2,843 new positive COVID-19 cases in Arkansas and that steps would need to be taken to slow the spread of the virus and the new, more contagious Delta variant.
With hospitals running low on room due to this surge in cases, Hutchinson announced a public health emergency that would be effective for the next 60 days. The public health declaration is in effect starting today with the state legislature having the power to review and reverse it if they so choose. The Governor also reported that at the time of the press conference, there were 4 patients in ambulances waiting to find a hospital where they could be admitted.
As for the number of infected, it was reported that 96.39% (approximately 2740) of the positive cases were unvaccinated, and 95% of the hospitalized are unvaccinated.
What Does This Mean For Kids Going Back To School?
Also during the press conference, Governor Hutchinson chose to discuss the health of children across the state with school coming back into session over the next few weeks. He mentioned that he will be calling a special session of legislature to amend Act 1002 that will allow schools to make local decisions on the public health of their school system to protect children 12 and under.
Will the mask mandate return?
Governor Hutchinson said that this announcement is "all about the children" and that vaccination and masking should be a discussion by families and school environments. Hutchinson also said he will not be reinstating a mask mandate for everyone in the state saying, "there will be no statewide mask mandate imposed by me."
See the full press conference from Gov. Hutchinson below.