Tuesday, January 12, 2021
By Robert Cox and Scott LoftisCCNnews@cox-internet.com
Three more Carroll County residents have died from complications related to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Arkansas Department of Health, and Berryville School District superintendent Owen Powell confirmed Monday that a teacher in the district has died.
According to numbers released Monday morning by the Arkansas Department of Health, the total number of deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus in the county now stands at 33. Statewide, the death toll has risen to 4,043.
Its unclear if the 33 Carroll County deaths reported by the health department include the Berryville teacher.
Tuesday, January 12, 2021
Arkansas Department of Health
While many hospitals across the country are struggling to deal with another surge of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic particularly rural hospitals, where beds and staff are limited and space for transfers is limited Carroll Countys two largest healthcare facilities are weathering the storm without any major problems and are rapidly completing the process of vaccinating their staff against the novel coronavirus.
At Mercy Hospital Hospital in Berryville, a 25-bed critical access facility, the number of patients both COVID-related and non-COVID has remained manageable and most of the approximately 125-member hospital staff has already received at least the first dose of the vaccine. Many began receiving the second dose last week.
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Wednesday, January 6, 2021
By Robert Cox and Samantha JonesCCNnews@cox-internet.com
According to numbers released by the Arkansas Department of Health on Tuesday morning, there were 127 new cases of COVID-19 in the county since last week, with no additional deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus and nearly 130 additional reported recoveries.
Statewide, however, the health department reported 18,253 new cases since Jan. 5, an increase of 8.4 percent. In the past seven days, more than 260 additional deaths have been reported.
The increases come nearly three weeks after the first round of vaccines were delivered to hospitals around the state as part of a massive inoculation effort aimed at vaccinating healthcare workers in advance of a larger effort aimed at the general populace.
Hospitals in Berryville and Eureka Springs received their first shipments of COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, Dec. 18, and began vaccinating employees that afternoon.
Mercy Hospital in Berryville planned to begin vaccinating employees at about 1 p.m. Friday, senior media relations specialist Jennifer Cook said by email Wednesday, Dec. 16.
It will likely take a couple of days to exhaust the supply in the first shipment, so vaccinations will continue Monday, Cook said. We followed state guidelines for prioritizing recipients, and those working directly with COVID patients and high-risk co-workers are first.
Cody Qualls, executive director of development, corporate and community relations for Mercy Berryville, said 54 hospital employees had been vaccinated by Monday morning.