The Governor was joined today by Secretary of State (SOS) John Thurston and directors of both major political parties. Gave a brief history of absentee voting. Thurston has interpreted existing language regarding inability to vote because of illness to include COVID-19 concerns. The Governor fully supports this interpretation and both parties are in agreement too.

Michael John Gray, director of the Democratic Party said absentee balloting and the safety of voters are important issues. He worked with the Governor and looked at options to get things done. There will be a challenge to educate voters on how to obtain absentee ballots. The Governor and the Secretary of State have agreed to help with this education effort.

Doyle Webb, director of the Republican Party, said he supports what the Secretary of State is doing and encourages voters who are concerned about their health to request an absentee ballot. They must be requested. When the ballot is mailed back, identification is required. This is a much more secure system than simple mail-in voting. The GOP will use their best efforts to spread this message.

SOS John Thurston said elections are the bedrock of our republic and security is important; and then COVID-19 came along and made things more challenging. What will the November elections look like? CARES Act Funding is available to help. It is the SOS’ position that the election will look like all other elections with the exception that people will be wearing masks, distancing and there will be hand sanitizer available too. The SOS will purchase disposable stylus pens; this means the only thing you would have to touch is the pen, which has been used by no one else.

The deadline to request an absentee ballot by mail is Oct 27. You can get absentee ballots in person until November 2. All must be received by 7:30 pm on Election Day. There will also be two weeks of early voting. To obtain an absentee ballot contact your County Clerk, the SOS office or the SOS website. You must be a registered voter to absentee and the deadline to register is October 5.

Case update:

Our cumulative total yesterday was 21,197 cases. Today we have our largest number of new cases at 878, which increases our cumulative total to 22,075.

We had a net decrease of three hospitalized lowering the total to 272.

We had two new deaths increasing the total to 279.

Top counties for new cases: Hot Spring (prison) 151, Washington 117, Pulaski 98, Benton 75, Sebastian 55, Faulkner 35, Crawford 23 and the remainder under 20.

Tested 7,089 yesterday

Looking at the graph of daily new cases, it is obvious that today’ 878 new cases is the largest single day during the pandemic. The rate of hospitalizations 7-day rolling average continues to trend down. But what will the increase in cases mean? The percent of positive tests is still trending down.

There will be canvassers out during the weekend seeking signatures on petitions. The Governor encouraged everyone to wear a mask. Some of the canvassers will be from out of state, including Arizona. Make sure both are protected.

Dr. Nate Smith, Secretary of Health

Not good news to have the largest day of new cases, which is double what we had yesterday. Not necessarily due to more testing but some is related to where they are doing the testing. But still concerned.

Of the 878 new cases at least 150 are in prisons. Of the 22,075 cumulative total, 6,098 are active.

We had a slight net decrease in hospitalizations of three. Currently there are 69 on ventilators, which is up three.

To date 15,698 have recovered and this is up 535.

Of the 151 new cases in Hot Spring County, most if not all are in the prison. In Pulaski County about half are in Little Rock and a quarter in North Little Rock.  Washington County going up 117 is a concern. Have been trying to increase testing in Washington County.

Dr. Smith presented a complicated slide. Should not use antibody tests while someone has active case. The amount of virus early on could be very low, and a test could be negative. By the time they have symptoms they will be positive, if not something else is causing their issues. So, when someone comes in contact with someone infected and they go get tested and turn up negative, don’t relax. They can then expose others. So quarantine is needed regardless of whether the test is positive. If you know you have been in contact, you need to self-quarantine.

Q&A

Any idea for the reason in the spike in cases and are you concerned?

The Governor said when you look at surrounding states you see upward trends and spikes. A large part of our spike is the increase in testing. Does not yet think this is a trend. Hope it is an isolated day.

Any discussion about expanding the time for early voting and/or use large venues like arenas?

The Governor said there has not been any discussion about early voting. Thinks each county should consider additional polling places. Today’s announcement is the critical part of addressing the election.

Applying for absentee ballot?

SOS Thurston said you can contact your County Clerk or download from the SOS website. You can prove your voting status by signing the ballot. Essentially absentee ballots are provisional ballots.

Why not send everyone an absentee ballot?

The SOS said it is a matter of funding. Nothing prevents clerks from sending, or anyone can copy and share with anyone. Postage to send to everyone and return mail, mailing the ballot and another return would be very expensive. In 2016, 42,000 voted absentee in Arkansas. No way to measure but Thurston would guess 100-150,000 could vote absentee this year.

Will absentee ballots be tabulated before election day?

The SOS said no.

NWA health providers say they have a bottleneck with their testing supplies?

The Governor said he has discussed this issue with the hospitals in NWA. They are using their own tests on their patients that provide a quick response and this is where they are having supply issues. Putting this in a national perspective. We are still relying upon commercial labs. With the increase in volume nationally, it is now taking 7 days to get a response. The Governor thinks a national approach should be taken to testing. There is a huge pressure point right now.

Dr. Smith added that hospitals need to focus their resources on the sick patients they are caring for and the reagents for this are in short supply. The Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) is going to help by having some tests sent to the public health lab.

Any reason to rethink strategy after today’s spike?

The Governor said they think about this every day. The current strategy is good, but we need citizens to follow the guidelines.

What is the state’s testing supply?

The Governor said ADH is continuing to do yeoman’s work and have the supplies they need. Worried more about late July and after. Biggest challenge is the national demand on commercial labs.

Can you supplement the commercial labs?

The Governor said they have no influence on commercial labs. But the state can partner with hospitals that might be challenged.

Mass testing events in NWA have been well attended, are you concerned about testing volume?

The Governor said there needs to be a consistent message. So a coordination deal has been made to help with resources. Dr. Smith says they are continuing to test in their public health units around 700 a day. The more testing that is done outside hospitals frees up hospital resources for their sick patients.

Dr. Fauci said this week he has concerns about bars, people needed to stop congregating in bars. Do you think Arkansas needs to look at closing bars?

The Governor said you have to remember that the bars are owned by people that have invested money and have employees. You should not close them down unless there is a valid public reason to close them. If it is found that they are not following the guidelines, when there is data that correlates a bar to a number of new cases that would support a different approach.

Are you issuing an executive order on the absentee voting?

The Governor said with what they’ve done with both political parties and the SOS, this is all that is needed. Other issues will be taken on a case by case basis.

Will proof of reason for absentee voting be required?

The Governor said no, simply fear of the virus is enough.

Did we go into Phase 2 too early?

The Governor said no. It only increased volume in restaurants and opened other places but still not finding any correlation of cases to the re-openings.

Will polling places need to follow guidelines?

The Governor said yes.

What do you want the federal government to do?

The Governor said he would like to see the National Defense Production Act be invoked. It was done for ventilators but needs to expand to include testing supplies.

There will an update tomorrow.

The Governor said that he has been getting a lot of questions about sports this fall. The simple answer is there is a connection between wearing masks and having sports. If we wear masks, we reduce the virus and that puts us in a position to have some team sports this fall.

Yesterday our cumulative case total was 20,777. We have had 420 new cases increasing the total to 21,197 today.

Yesterday we had 290 people hospitalized and now we’ve had a net decrease of 15 leaving 275 hospitalized.

We have had 7 new deaths making our total 277.

Top counties with new cases: Lee (prison) 69, Pulaski 49, Washington 48, Yell 28, Benton 20 and the rest had 20 or less.

Active cases have decreased to 5,757

Almost 8,000 tests in the last 24 hours; 7,993 with an overall positive rate of 6.7%.

The statewide 7-day rolling average of new cases is on a downward trend for the fourth consecutive day. Active cases finally have gone down as have hospitalizations. The 7-day rolling average of positive cases is turning down from a plateau. Our most recent day is lower than what we have been seeing.

The total number of tests done in June were 180,595, which is 6% of our population

The new case rolling averages in the top 10 populated counties:

Benton is going down sharply.

Washington’s trend line is going down.

Pulaski had been going up sharply, but has now turned down.

Faulkner going down from a week of relatively flat

Craighead has a downward trend to about 5 cases a day.

White plateaued downward to around 1 case.

Miller is plateaued between 2 and 3 cases.

Union, after an extended plateau of less than five, had gone down to only 1.

Jefferson has been flat at almost no cases since the peak of cases from Cummins.

St. Francis, similar to Jefferson, almost no cases since Forrest City prison outbreak.

So, in our 10 most populated counties new cases are going down.

The National Training exercise involving over 4,000 guardsmen from multiple states has been cancelled. The decision was made after conferring over federal rules that did not allow for individual testing. Were concerned about their return to their hometowns.

Dr. Nate Smith, Secretary of Health

The 420 number of new cases is large but smaller than recent days and at least 33 were in prisons.

Lee County cases haven’t been officially classified yet, so the prison count is expected to go up within the 420 new case number.

Our cumulative case total is 21,197 of which 5,757 are active, which is down from yesterday. Of the active cases, 153 are in nursing homes, 525 are in prisons and 5,079 are in the community.

Increases in nursing homes—15 residents and 11 staff.

We currently have 275 patients hospitalized, which is a net decrease of 15.

There are now 72 patients on ventilators, and this is up 5.

Seven new deaths raise the toll to 277.

We now have 15,163 who have recovered, up 632 from yesterday.

We reached our goal of 180,000 tests in June. We need to get enough tests out there to catch as many positives as possible.

Of the 1,300 COVID-19 patients ever hospitalized, 277 or 13.6% have died, 20.2% are still hospitalized, and 66.2% have been discharged and survived.

Of the 203 ever on a ventilator, 94 or 46.3% have died, 52 or 25.6% are still on and 57 or 28.1% have been taken off ventilators.

We are now seeing some patients getting blood clots and neurologic complications like strokes. We are also starting to see cases affect the heart.

Q&A

What’s the federal rule that doesn’t allow National Guard troops to be tested?

Arkansas Adjutant General Major General Kendall Penn said they discovered a law that has not followed the times. The type of training that was going to occur does not meet the requirements for testing everyone, just people with symptoms. He said that he visualizes doing most of their training at local facilities and continuing all of the COVID-19 protocols that are in place.

Will this affect readiness?

General Penn said the training was a steppingstone for combat training next summer. He anticipates that next summer’s exercise will be scaled down.

Could you not test everyone coming in anyway?

General Penn said federal funds could not be used.

What changed over a week ago?

General Penn said as they tried to buy the kits, they discovered the law. He gave his recommendation to the Governor who concurred.

Where are the Pulaski County cases coming from?

Dr. Smith said no distinct clusters have been identified other than the corrections facility in Wrightsville.

Are deaths included in net decreases in hospitalizations?

Dr. Smith said yes when someone dies in the hospital it lowers the hospitalization number. But not all deaths have been in a hospital. Over two-thirds of deaths have been nursing home patients, who make up only 10% of cases.

Saline County nursing homes have not received anything?

The Governor said they can coordinate with the Healthcare Association. Ask questions of ADH or Healthcare Association. If they have had a positive case in last 28 days, they cannot have guests. And they can also call the Dept. of Human Services.

Do recovered people include long-term health issues?

Dr. Smith said the majority of people that recover return to a normal state of health. So those that have lasting problems are still considered recovered from the virus. We don’t have good data on how many people are having the complications. Long-term follow-up studies will likely find that kind of information.

Arkansans are falling victim of UI fraud, how big is this issue and what can the state do?

The Governor said he has talked to Secretary of Commerce Mike Preston. They do have a number of cases that indicate fraud. They are being actively reviewed. If there are indications of fraud, then payments will not be made. If proof exists, they will be turned over the law enforcement. The State Inspector General is involved in the investigation too.

Some filing for UI are having trouble with the search for work, can’t find jobs?

The Governor said all you have to do is make inquiries with three employers. If no jobs, then they meet the requirement.

Why did testing numbers go down a few days ago and should people be skeptical about the lowering of numbers.
The Governor said you should not be skeptical. It is typical that over a weekend that tests decline and that is probably what you saw.

Crittenden County NAACP reached out for more PPE?

The Governor said he discussed their requirements with Dr. Smith today. Such requests normally come through the emergency management system by local mayors and other local leaders. So the public request doesn’t fit how the process works. Many Crittenden County patients go to Memphis for care. The state will continue to look at the requirements and talk with local officials about what their needs are that could be helped.

Will the Fourth of July affect the downward trend and plans to fight it?

The Governor said yes, we are concerned. But we have to fight complacency every day. Hopefully, Arkansans will be consistent in wearing their masks and social distancing. He wants ABC officers and others to watch for places where the guidelines are not being followed.

Mask mandate?

The Governor said if you ask any healthcare expert if sheltering in place would help reduce the spread, the answer would be yes. But you have to also consider the impact on the economy.

To lessen the incidence of COVID-19 infections in Arkansas, the State Chamber/AIA has developed signage encouraging Arkansans to wear face masks in indoor settings.

The signs in English can be accessed here and here.

The signs in Spanish can be accessed here and here.

Both versions can be printed and affixed to the entrance doors of your company or organization.

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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. June 24, 2020 — The Arkansas Department of Commerce, Division of Workforce Services (DWS) announced today that the work search requirement for Unemployment Insurance will be back in effect beginning June 28, 2020.  When claiming benefits for the week ending July 4 and after, individuals will have to report the number of job contacts they made that week.

The number of contacts required is based on geographic location. Individuals receiving regular unemployment benefits or Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) who live in larger metropolitan areas must make three (3) contacts a week. The larger metropolitan statistical areas include:  Benton, Cleveland, Craighead, Crittenden, Faulkner, Garland, Grant, Jefferson, Lincoln, Lonoke, Madison, Miller, Perry, Poinsett, Pulaski, Saline, Sebastian, and Washington counties.  Individuals residing in rural areas must make two (2) job contacts each week.

Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) claimants have the same requirements, except for those who are self-employed. Self-employed PUA claimants must be engaged in activities designed to resume their usual self-employment, rather than making job contacts.  Self-employed PUA claimants should enter the number of days on which they were engaged in activities designed to resume their usual self-employment.

Those claiming Extended Benefits will have enhanced work search requirements and must provide a written log of job contacts each week in order to receive benefits. Individuals receiving EB who live in larger metropolitan statistical areas (as listed above) must make four (4) job contacts a week while those in rural areas must make three (3).

Individuals with recall to work dates that are within 10 weeks of their initial or additional claim filing date are exempt from the work search requirements. If the recall to work date is more than 10 weeks, the individual must do the required work search. In order to receive the work search exemption, a claimant must provide DWS with a written letter from their employer that includes the claimant’s name, last four digits of the claimant’s SSN, their last day of work, and the date to be recalled to work. Claimants will need to mail or deliver the letter to their local Arkansas Workforce Center.

Job seekers are strongly encouraged to visit the state’s online job portal Arkansas JobLink (AJL) at www.arjoblink.arkansas.gov. Create a Job Seeker account to add a resume, access thousands of jobs, connect with employers who are hiring, and learn about other resources and services. We also invite business owners, hiring managers, HR representatives and the like to create Employer accounts, browse resumes and connect with qualified job candidates.

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