Only 8 ICU Beds Available In Arkansas After Surge In Delta Variant Cases

Only eight intensive care unit (ICU) beds were available throughout Arkansas Monday as coronavirus hospitalizations surged, multiple sources reported.

Arkansas saw a record single-day increase in coronavirus hospitalizations on Monday as 1,376 patients were admitted with coronavirus, a 103 person increase since Sunday, according to the Arkansas Department of Health. There are currently over 500 patients in ICUs and 286 on ventilators, according to government data.

“Today’s report shows some very startling numbers,” Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in a statement. “We saw the largest single-day increase in hospitalizations and have eclipsed our previous high of COVID hospitalizations.”

Arkansas ranks third in the country for new cases per capita, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Cases have surged due to the state’s 37% vaccination rate and the spread of the delta variant, the Associated Press reported.

Arkansas recorded 2646 COVID-19 deaths from January to August 2021, compared to 1,384 deaths from March, when the first coronavirus death in the state was recorded, to October 2020, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

There have been 1,564 delta variant cases in the state as of Aug. 7, affecting the 25-44-year-old age range the most, according to a report by the Arkansas Department of Health. 91% of the state’s deaths have been unvaccinated individuals.

Roughly 59% of the U.S. population has received at least one dose of the vaccine, and just over 50% have been fully vaccinated, according to data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Hutchinson signed a bill in April banning mask mandates and told “Face the Nation” on Sunday that the decision was a mistake, according to CBS.

“Facts change and leaders have to adjust to the new facts that you have and the reality of what you have to deal with,” Hutchinson said.

“I realized that we needed to have more options for our local school districts to protect those children,” the governor said. “And so I asked the legislature to redo the law that prohibited those requirements or those options for the school districts to protect the children. And so it was an error to sign that law.”