EDITOR'S NOTE: As a service to our readers, The Sentinel-Record publishes updates released each weekday by the city of Hot Springs and the state of Arkansas.
The following stats were shared Tuesday at Gov. Asa Hutchinson's daily COVID-19 news conference in Little Rock and posted on the Arkansas Department of Health website:
• 45,381 cumulative cases, up 784 from Monday.
• 533,899 test reports, up 6,499 from Monday.
• 8.5% infection rate, down from 8.6% Monday.
• 6,891 active cases, up nine from Monday.
• 38,000 recoveries, up 760 from Monday
• 526 hospitalizations, up 13 from Monday.
• 101 cases on a ventilator, down seven from Monday.
• 1,341 cumulative nursing home residents infected, up 21 from Monday.
• 490 deaths, up 15 from Monday.
• 879 cumulative cases in Garland County, up four from Monday.
• 13,952 test reports for Garland County, up 49 from Monday.
• 6.3% infection rate, no change from Monday.
• 197 active cases in Garland County, down 30 from Monday.
• 674 recoveries in Garland County, up 37 from Monday.
• Eight deaths in Garland County, no change from Monday.
Hutchinson said he received notice last weekend that a Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claim had been filed in his name. It's one of 37,000 claims the state said is under investigation.
"I didn't apply for it," he said, noting that several other officials in his cabinet received similar notification letters. "I'm not entitled to it. The scheme is most likely that if I would go ahead and sign off on this, then the check would be issued not to my bank account but to the fraudster's bank account. Put my address, identification on there and somebody else's bank account information where they can funnel the money to them."
He asked people who hadn't filed for unemployment but received notification that a claim had been filed in their name to report it to the Division of Workforce Services. Reports can be made by email, at http://[email protected], or by calling 501-682-1058.
"It can literally happen to anyone, as the governor learned this weekend," Secretary of Commerce Mike Preston said.
Preston said the fraudulent claims are the result of data breaches revealing personal information from various sources over several decades.
"It's fraudulently obtained and stored, and then at the opportune time, like this one, those bad actors will then use the information to file claims and hope they can game the system because we do have so many claims coming in," he said. "We're having to flag more claims than we normally would to stop the fraud that's coming in.
"We're trying to get through the backlog, so we can make the payments to those who are in need of the payments and who rightfully deserve their payment."
Preston said locations will be set up for claimants whose benefits have been suspended to verify the legitimacy of their claim. He said the state has paid out close to $1 billion in unemployment benefits during the pandemic, including the $600 a week in federal weekly benefits that have expired.
He said the state will have to pay back the federal government for payments made on fraudulent claims.
The four new cases reported Tuesday in Garland County were the fewest since the three reported July 9, lowering the county's rolling seven-day average of new cases for a fourth day in a row. Tuesday's new cases coincided with 49 test reports added to the county's testing total, the fewest since the 49 added July 9.
Tuesday's 23.71 average was 21% lower than Friday's peak of 30. Active cases fell below 200 for the first time since July 22. The 197 active cases reported Tuesday were 20% lower than Friday's peak of 244.
The 784 new statewide cases reported Tuesday raised the state's rolling seven-day average to 742.86, ending a five-day streak of falling averages. Tuesday's average was 9% lower than the July 29 peak of 817.43.
The net increase of 13 COVID-19 patients in hospitals pushed hospitalizations to a new peak of 526, a 2.1% increase from Sunday's peak of 515. Hospitalizations have increased 18.2% in a month.
"This increase is reflecting the increase in cases from some time ago when we were at a higher level than we are now," Hutchinson said. "We hope the fact that we've been flat for some time will reflect a decrease in that hospitalization over time."