BREAKING: Hospitalizations Up 350%, Arkansas Becomes U.S. COVID Hot Spot

The latest data from public health professionals shows that COVID-19 cases in Arkansas are skyrocketing. Arkansas is quickly becoming the focal point for COVID-19 spread in the United States, while at the very same time Republican officials are peeling back health guidelines, sidelining medical professionals, and declaring the state “Ready for Business.”

Arkansas’s elected officials are not doing what’s right, and it’s costing lives.

Thankfully, Democratic State Rep. Nicole Clowney is speaking out and standing up to protect the lives of her community, neighbors, friends, and loved ones. But the situation is growing increasingly stark.

Northwest Arkansas is a hot spot, but the entire state continues to be at risk. That includes the risk of exhausting our medical professionals and the limited number of ventilators and hospital beds. That problem is especially acute for rural Arkansans who may have to travel long distances to seek medical care and to support their loves ones.

The mixed messages comes from our elected Republican leaders is one identifiable cause of the rise in infections. 

We are being warned of daily new records in hospitalizations and infections, but Governor Asa Hutchinson and Republican lawmakers continue to push forward with re-opening the economy no matter the cost in lives. During the governor’s press conference on Thursday he said, “Regardless of what we see next week, we made the right decision…”

As the governor prepares to re-open all businesses in Arkansas, dismantle public health practices, and set an agenda for the Fall semester for our children — we must keep in mind that our health and safety must come first.