COVID-19 update: GC in top 5 for new infections

As a service to our readers, The Sentinel-Record publishes updates released by the city of Hot Springs and the state of Arkansas.

The following stats were posted Friday on the Arkansas Department of Health website:

• 251,711 cumulative confirmed cases, up 412 from Thursday.

• 362.14 rolling seven-day average of new confirmed cases, up 33.14 from Thursday.

• 2,634,339 PCR test reports, up 6,606 from Thursday.

• 9.6% cumulative PCR infection rate, no change from Thursday.

• 66,927 cumulative probable cases, up 104 from Thursday.

• 17.7% cumulative antigen infection rate, no change from Thursday.

• 4,479 active confirmed and probable cases, down 241 from Thursday.

• 870,590 vaccine doses received, up 35,000 from Thursday.

• 560,854 doses given, up 20,816 from Thursday.

• 504 hospitalizations, down 18 from Thursday.

• 98 cases on a ventilator, down 10 from Thursday.

• 184 ICU admissions, down 20 from Thursday.

• 4,348 confirmed deaths, up nine from Thursday.

• 1,059 probable deaths, up one from Thursday.

• 2,023 nursing home deaths, up one from Thursday.

• 8,163 cumulative confirmed cases in Garland County, up 17 from Thursday.

• 19.71 rolling seven-day average of new confirmed cases, up 1.28 from Thursday.

• 95,534 PCR and antigen test reports, up 212 from Thursday.

• 71,058 private lab reports, up 139 from Thursday.

• 24,476 public lab reports, up 73 from Thursday.

• 9.8% cumulative PCR infection rate, no change from Thursday.

• 172 active confirmed cases in Garland County, down 39 from Thursday.

• 7,799 recoveries of confirmed cases in Garland County, up 56 from Thursday.

• 1,483 cumulative probable cases in Garland County, up two from Thursday.

• 51 active probable cases in Garland County, down seven from Thursday.

• 192 confirmed deaths, no change from Thursday.

• 40 probable deaths, no change from Thursday.

Garland County ranked in the top five for new infections for the second day in a row Friday. The 20 new confirmed and probable cases reported Friday were the fifth-most in the state. The more than 50 reported Thursday ranked fourth.

The rolling seven-day average of new confirmed cases rose for the second-straight day, but Friday's 19.71 average was 82% lower than the overall peak the infection curve traced Jan. 11 and 34% lower than the summer peak.

The state's polymerase chain reaction-confirmed infection curve rose for a fourth-straight day, as this week's cases are replacing last week's in the rolling average. Winter storms last week reduced testing, which lowered last week's number of new reported infections.

The Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee Friday unanimously recommended the U.S. Food and Drug Administration grant an emergency use authorization for Janssen Biotech Pharmaceutical's one-shot, viral vector vaccine.

The FDA confirmed earlier this week that the vaccine, which would be distributed by Johnson & Johnson, Janssen's parent company, is 66% effective at preventing moderate to severe symptoms, 85% effective against more serious illnesses and 100% effective at preventing hospitalizations and deaths.

The White House announced Friday that 50% of people 65 and older have received at least one dose of the two-dose messenger RNA-based vaccines currently in circulation. The FDA relaxed guidelines Friday for storing and shipping Pfizer's messenger RNA-based vaccine, determining undiluted frozen vials will remain stable for up to two weeks at standard freezer temperatures.

Temperatures of minus 112 degrees to minus 76 degrees Fahrenheit are preferred for storage of undiluted vials, the agency said. Thawed vials before dilution can be stored for up to five days in a refrigerator, the agency said. Thawed vials after dilution can be held at refrigerator temperature or room temperature for up to six hours.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that the more transmissible United Kingdom variant of the virus has accounted for about 10% of reported infections in the United States.

Dr. Jose Romero, Arkansas' secretary of health, said Friday that the variant's genetic sequence has not been detected in the state.

"We are watching carefully for them," he said. "Because we have not found them does not mean they are not here."

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