FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.— National medical figures like Dr. Anthony Fauci have said the U.S. could reach its peak for positive COVID-19 cases in the next couple weeks, with Arkansas’ medical community targeting April 29 at this point. People shouldn’t think of that as a sign things will open back up soon, a local physician said.
Dr. Gary Berner, the chief medical officer at Community Clinic, said his best guess is the middle of June for when things may culminate in a “new normal”. Even that guess might change depending on new statistics, he said.
Arkansas’ perceived success relative to other states should be encouraging to people with an understanding they must continue to follow guidelines.
“Our numbers are a lot better than some of the scary projections,” Berner said. “That doesn’t mean that things are going great but that our efforts have helped us to do better than what was projected.”
Berner agrees with Fauci in that the country could see a gradual reopening of certain businesses. Expect preventative measures to stay in place for a while after Arkansas’ peak, he said.
