US Extends Mask Rule for Travel While Weighing New Approach
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is developing guidance that will ease the nationwide mask mandate on airplanes, buses and other mass transit next month, according to a U.S.…
Arkansas’ covid trends continue downward as state marks 18th straight day with few hospitalizations
A day after falling below 1,000 for the first time in more than a month, the number of covid-19 patients in Arkansas hospitals kept plummeting on Friday as the state's…
UAMS receives $10 million federal grant for COVID-19 outreach
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences has been awarded a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to fund COVID-19 outreach efforts across Arkansas.…
COVID hospitalizations in Arkansas decline after setting records this week
After setting a record Wednesday for the number of people hospitalized in Arkansas with COVID-19, the state reported a decline of 31 patients on Thursday. The Department of Health said…
Unemployment rate sinks to 3.1% in state
Arkansas' unemployment rate continued to fall in December, ending 2021 at a record low of 3.1%. Arkansas' civilian labor force shrank by 1,098, with 3,750 fewer Arkansans unemployed and 2,652…
Arkansas COVID infections declining, but hospitalizations are stressing system
Infection rates in most age groups are declining in Arkansas with the 65-and-older group being flat. But Arkansas Secretary of Health Dr. Jose Romero on Tuesday said COVID-19 continues to…
UAMS research finds COVID-19 has mutation limits
A research team at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences has found COVID-19 has limits to its ability to mutate into variants as it has with delta and omicron.…
Panel Approves $50M Emergency Request for More Beds at Arkansas Hospitals
An Arkansas panel on Monday approved an emergency request to allocate $50.1 million in federal funds to temporarily increase bed capacity at hospitals across the state. The funds from the…
National Guard to deploy members around Arkansas next week to assist in COVID testing
The Arkansas National Guard has announced 40 of its members will assist with COVID testing in Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Jonesboro, Little Rock, Mountain Home, Pine Bluff, Rogers and Springdale. It…
New covid cases, vaccinations in Arkansas dip after holiday
The daily increase of new and active covid-19 cases dipped lower Friday while vaccine doses administered took a dive as well, according to Health Department data. Another 303 new cases…
As Thanksgiving approaches, Arkansas’ daily covid case increase again
In a further indication of the coronavirus's accelerating spread in Arkansas, the state's count of cases rose Wednesday by more than 800 for the second day in a row as…
Jobless Ratio Stands at 0.6 in Arkansas
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics last month issued its first-ever report on state-level estimates for the Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS. According to Michael Pakko, the…
State Covid hospitalizations dip below 300; daily cases increase
The number of patients hospitalized with covid-19 dipped by 15 to 293, while the number of virus patients who were on ventilators dropped by eight to 71. Another 557 new…
UAMS looks to combat physician shortage by creating fast-track program for medical students
Wait times in doctors’ offices could be getting longer as the state continues to see a shortage of physicians. The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences says the shortage has…
Arkansas businesses hiring more employees as holiday shopping picks up
This time of year is always crazy as businesses scramble to find employees to fill seasonal positions. This year could be a little different for those businesses though, as more…
Truck drivers remain in high demand as holidays approach, Arkansas experts say
We've seen shortages for everything throughout the pandemic, from toilet paper to chicken wings. Now, there's another shortage that has persisted even before the pandemic – truck drivers. "The trucking…
DHS Extends Enhanced Rate For COVID-19 Shots In Bid To Encourage More Vaccinations
Arkansas Medicaid providers will be paid a higher rate for administering first- and second-round doses of the COVID-19 vaccines through the end of the year as part of a continuing…
Abstract background for COVID-19 outbreak crisis to collapse the global economy. COVID-19 Virus pendulum swinging to dollar coin on beige background. 3d rendering illustration.
Arkansas stores see toy shortage as parents begin Christmas shopping
The pandemic has been no stranger to shortages and parents might want to get a head start on purchasing gifts this year because of the most recent one: a shortage…
Abstract background for COVID-19 outbreak crisis to collapse the global economy. COVID-19 Virus pendulum swinging to dollar coin on beige background. 3d rendering illustration.
State’s COVID-19 cases up by 1,004, deaths by 21
The spread of the coronavirus in Arkansas appeared to be continuing to slow Thursday, with a report showing another drop in active cases in public schools, and the number of…
Merck says a trial shows it has produced the first effective antiviral pill for COVID-19.
The drugmaker Merck said on Friday that it would seek authorization for the first antiviral pill for Covid after its drug, known as molnupiravir, was shown in a clinical trial…