'We still have work to do here in Arkansas': Gov. Hutchinson on high unemployment rate

LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson reported on Friday that Arkansas’ unemployment rate jumped almost seven percent in two months after the coronavirus pandemic hit Arkansas and shuttered businesses. The state’s unemployment rate was 10.2% in April.

The state’s rate is 4.5% lower than the national unemployment rate in April, but Hutchinson said “we still have work to do here in Arkansas.”

On Friday, 8,198 small businesses had been approved for Arkansas’ Ready For Business grant funds, according to the governor. He said the grant money will reach those applicants throughout the weekend. And he said over 7,000 people who applied for Arkansas’ Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program were sent checks on Friday. He said 3,000 more applicants will receive funds over the weekend.

Hutchinson said he is hopeful that May’s unemployment numbers will be significantly lower after reopening Arkansas businesses that had been under COVID-19 restrictions.

Arkansas reported 154 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday. This comes after Arkansas saw the highest spike in cases in the state after 455 people tested positive for the virus.

“I want to thank you for not giving us a day full of drama,” Hutchinson said at the news conference on Friday.

Hutchinson said that while the state increases coronavirus testing, the positivity rates of those tests have not increased, which he said is a good thing. But the jump in cases on Thursday has pushed back plans to move into Phase 2 of reopening.

“With the uptick that we’ve seen recently, particularly yesterday, we’re not looking at Phase 2 right now,” Hutchinson said.

Washington County had the highest number of new cases, with 32 new cases reported Friday. Hutchinson said most of those cases came from three households. Health Secretary Dr. Nate Smith said that eight new cases came from the same street in Paragould.

“That shows you the quickness of spread in a household or in a community,” Hutchinson said. “We can handle all of this if we are doing the right thing and protecting our families.”

Smith said only two people who recently tested positive reported possibly being exposed at a restaurant and only two had possibly been exposed at a gym.

“So far we’re not seeing any clusters related to these activities that we have recently opened up,” Smith said.

On Friday, there were 1,470 active cases in Arkansas; 86 cases were in nursing homes, 510 cases were in correctional facilities and 874 cases were in the community. Three more deaths were reported, bringing the state’s COVID-19 death toll to 113. There were 13 new cases at the Forrest City correctional facility, bringing the total number of cases at the federal prison to 622.

More restrictions on elective surgeries are being lifted on Monday, which will allow more types of patients to have surgeries and will allow patients to stay at hospitals to recover longer. Most elective surgeries will still require pre-operation COVID-19 testing.

State park trails and lodging are open ahead of the memorial day weekend and park employees will be monitoring to encourage visitors to practice physical distancing. Popular trails in the Ozark National Forest and the Buffalo National River have also been opened for the holiday weekend.

“Passing someone on a trail is a much lower risk than, say, being at a memorial day party,” Smith said. "We know the individual behaviors that we can take to minimize risk."