The Arkansas Department of Health reports this morning that the number of travelers it is monitoring for possible exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus (which causes COVID-19) has risen from 64 to 99, but none of the six people tested for COVID-19 has the disease.
The health department is asking providers who are seeing patients with symptoms (cough, fever, etc.) to run tests for flu and other respiratory ailments to rule out the disease. If they don’t have the capability to test, the health department will test to rule out flu, RSV ( respiratory syncytial virus) or the common cold.
Meanwhile, the University of Arkansas System informed its Board of Trustees that it is prepared to move to online classes should campuses need to close and that all students studying abroad in Level 2 countries will be brought home. System President Don Bobbitt also said it will pick up the cost of testing for students.
There are now only 236 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the U.S., with 13 deaths in Washington State and one in California. The elderly, especially those with underlying conditions, are most at risk.