Here’s the daily Health Department update on COVID-19 in Arkansas.

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Total cases (counting from PCR tests and “probable” cases based on antigen testing): 73,211, up 992 from yesterday.

The number of confirmed cases rose by 883 to 71,614 and the probables rose by 109 to 1,597.

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Deaths rose 1,166, with 8 linked to PCR confirmed cases. The summary above shows only confirmed case deaths.

There are now 6,100 active cases in Arkansas.

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The county increases are significantly higher when probable cases are counted. You can find fuller updated data on the state website.

Play ball!

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I’m thinking again today how useful the governor’s daily briefings sometimes COULD be. Some discussion on another rough day would be in order today, for example.

As it was, the governor spun and grinned in a prepared statement today as he did yesterday at the White House report that Arkansas was 8th in the country in COVID-19 growth:

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“The increased use of antigen point-of-care testing is encouraging. This shows our investment in point-of-care testing is helping address the new demand for rapid tests on our K-12 and college campuses. Today’s report includes almost 10,000 tests between the PCR tests and the antigen tests. Of course, this means we identified new cases, and this will allow our more than 770 contact tracers to do their work and reduce the spread of the virus. Right now, we are concentrating on identifying communities that have an increased level of spread and encouraging stricter compliance with our health guidelines.”

Also, at the daily briefings, he sometimes got tough questions that ranged farther afield.

Today would have been a good time for one of those. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette caught up today on our scoop Monday that the $300 added weekly federal unemployment benefit was going to run only three weeks in Arkansas and maybe not that long, depending on how money holds out.

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Many questions remain. Bonus baby Mike Preston, the governor’s favorite cabinet secretary, insists the state is constrained by FEMA regulations. If so, more explanation is needed. Beginning with: Why is Louisiana getting (already gotten actually) six weeks worth of benefits while Arkansas may get only three if it’s lucky?

My efforts to get answers on that question from the governor’s office got an insufficient reply late yesterday. I’ve had no answers to my followup to Katie Beck. She wrote:

Arkansas did not limit its application for enhanced unemployment benefits.  We have been working with FEMA which administers the new program and there have been significant questions as to how the state will meet its match obligation and as to how long FEMA will be able to fund the extra payments.

 

Currently, DWS is making its weekly enhanced benefit payment of $300 and the Governor has received assurance that Cares Act funds can be used for the state’s portion of the payments to beneficiaries.   The length of the program will depend upon federal guidance and the availability of state funds.

I think this passage in the D-G, along with what Beck told me, gets close to the reason for Arkansas falling short:

At this point, Preston said, he couldn’t say for certain whether Arkansas would be eligible to apply for additional FEMA funding because the program requires a 25% match from the state. Arkansas has been using its regular unemployment benefit payments to meet the match, but that certification requires ensuring eligible jobless applicants are out of work because of coronavirus-related layoffs or job cuts.

Tricky phrasing by Preston.

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The 25 percent match is not a bar to asking for more money. It appears to be a bar ONLY IF the state DOESN’T WANT TO SPEND ITS MATCHING MONEY ON THE UNEMPLOYED. The first payments apparently cover the state share from federal money. Not REAL money, I guess, in the eyes Governor Hutchinson, who’s sitting on hundreds of millions in unallocated state surplus because of a tight budget. They’ll be rushing out more money to businesses, few questions asked, any day now.

Note: In our article Monday, I noted that FEMA was saying the money might run out and states were being told to expect less than a full six weeks. I’ve asked Arkansas Workforce Services specifically a question about what FEMA has told our state. No response so far.

 

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