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Spike in COVID-19 cases in Northwest Arkansas linked to one neighborhood

According to an announcement made today at the Governor's press conference, a large portion of new cases in Washington County came from three homes.

WASHINGTON COUNTY, ARKANSAS, Ark. — According to an announcement made today at the Governor's press conference, a large portion of new cases in Washington County came from three homes in the same neighborhood. 

We're trying to learn more about how this neighborhood, which is unknown at this time, contracted the coronavirus. But we do know through contact tracing, state experts we're able to track this information down and pinpoint a location.

Washington County and Benton County both saw their own largest day increases. The Governor says of yesterday's county Benton County had 22 new cases. 

The importance of contact tracing comes from the numbers out of Washington County. 32 additional cases were counted. As we mentioned, the Governor says most of the cases in Washington County were from 3 houses. 

He says Secretary Nate Smith and the Department of Health we're able to trace 61% of the cases from yesterday. Hutchinson says this helps provide more detailed information into how the virus spreads.

Credit: KFSM

“Most of those 32 new cases came from three households three households which shows you the quickness of spread in a household or in a community,” said Governor Hutchinson. 

The Governor said this spike in Washington County cases especially in a single neighborhood shows how fast this virus can spread within a community. 

Watch Live: Gov. Asa Hutchinson and state officials provide a daily update on COVID-19 in Arkansas.

Posted by 5NEWS on Friday, May 22, 2020

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