By Ray King
Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson has issued an order prohibiting the state’s hotels and motels from renting rooms to people from out of state who come here for recreational purposes.
In his daily press conference on the COVID-19 pandemic, the governor said the order is designed to cut down on people traveling to Arkansas from “hot spots” where the virus is more prevalent.
“We don’t want that to happen,” Hutchinson said.
The order will not apply to people who come to the state on business, health care workers, members of the National Guard, people who need shelter because of domestic violence incidents and several other groups of professionals.
On Friday, the Governor reported there were 704 confirmed cases of the Corona virus in Arkansas, and that number increased by 39 Saturday to 743. Of those, 72 people are hospitalized, an increase of one from the total on Friday.
He said the COVID-19 pandemic is not only a health crisis but also an economic crisis, with currently 66,000 people filing for unemployment and another 8,000 applications to be processed.
To help boost the economy, Hutchinson said 80 bridge loans from the Arkansas Economic Development Department have already been approved, totaling $7 million, and the first federal Small Business Administration loan through a bank has been processed.
The Governor also announced that $10 million has been set aside to help rural hospitals to make sure they can continue to operate. Those funds will be monitored at the state level and spent as needs arise. State Health Officer Dr. Nate Smith said two additional deaths have been reported, bringing the total to 14. Of those 14, 10 were 65 years of age or older and the remaining four were between ages 19 and 64.
Sixty-one of the confirmed cases are in nursing homes, 58 of theme residents and the remaining three health care workers.
Smith also announced that six cases have been confirmed at the Federal Correctional Institute in Forrest City, three of them inmates, the other three staff members and state authorities will continue to monitor those cases along with the federal Centers for Disease Control.
As he has for several days, Hutchinson defended his decision not to order a state-wide shelter-in-place as has been done in other states.
He said the state’s targeted response, such as closing schools, dine-in restaurants, barber and beauty shops, gyms, bars and taverns and others is working, in some ways more than the shelter in place orders in other states.
Smith added that the rate of growth of COVID-19 cases in the state is “among the lowest among all the states.”
The governor also said surveys by the Arkansas Department of Transportation show that travel has been reduced by 40 percent since the pandemic began
On the subject of masks, which have been recommended by the CDC, Smith said they offer limited value in protecting the wearer but help to prevent the spread of the virus by reducing the spread of droplets which can be produced from talking or the like.
