The Associated Press reports:

Arkansas on Tuesday ran out of intensive care unit beds for COVID-19 patients for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began, Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced, as a surge in cases continued overwhelming hospitals in the state.

The state’s ICU capacity for COVID patients barely eased hours after Hutchinson’s announcement, with only one hospital in southeast Arkansas showing availability, according to the state’s system for coordinating coronavirus patients. Virus patients make up about half of the state’s ICU beds. The number of virus patients in ICUs and on ventilators reached a new high in the state on Monday.

“Everyone should know the strain this puts on our hospitals and the need to get our vaccinations and how critical our bed space is,” Hutchinson told reporters at a news conference.

Hutchinson said hospitals in the state were working to open more ICU beds for virus patients. Arkansas Department of Health Chief of Staff Renee Mallory said one hospital planned to open additional beds later Tuesday and possibly later in the week. The Department of Health on Tuesday said the state’s total available ICU beds dropped by four to 18.

“For us, it is much more difficult to coordinate these transfer requests,” said Jeff Tabor, program manager for Arkansas COVIDComm, the state’s system for matching COVID-19 patients with hospitals. “The patients during the summer surge are so much sicker than during the winter surge.”

Arkansas ranks fifth in the country for new cases per capita, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University researchers. Arkansas has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country, with 40% of the state’s population fully vaccinated. [Continue reading…]