FAYETTEVILLE — Eight Northwest Arkansas residents have died of covid-19 since Thursday, putting the area’s death toll at 36, according to the Benton and Washington county coroners.
A 48-year-old man died Thursday in Washington County, followed by a 33-year-old woman Friday. A 47-year-old man and a 96-year-old man died Saturday, according to Roger Morris, Washington County coroner.
All four were Springdale residents.
The county has had a total of 18 deaths, including 15 Washington County residents and three Oklahoma residents, according to Morris.
Four people have died in Benton County since Thursday, putting the total number of deaths in that county from covid-19 at 21, according to Daniel Oxford, coroner. At least four of the deaths have been Washington County residents, and none have been out-of-state residents, he said.
A 65-year-old Springdale man and a 47-year-old Rogers man died Thursday. An 85-year-old Springdale woman died Friday, followed by a 57-year-old Rogers man Sunday.
Dr. Jennifer Dillaha of the Arkansas Department of Health said Tuesday during Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s daily news briefing that data available on the department’s website may not reflect the most updated numbers. The website reported 12 deaths in Washington County and eight deaths in Benton County as of Tuesday afternoon. Numbers on the department’s website reflect where people who have died of covid-19 lived, not necessarily where they died.
The Marshallese community continues to be disproportionately affected by covid-19. Nineteen of the 36 people, or about 52%, who have died were Marshallese, according to Morris and Oxford. Marshallese people account for about 3% of the region’s 520,000 residents, Melisa Laelan, director of the Arkansas Coalition of Marshallese, has said.
Six of the 36 people, or about 17%, who have died were Hispanic, according to the coroners. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates Hispanic people make up about 17% of the region’s population.
The remaining 11 people were non-Hispanic whites. Non-Hispanic whites comprise about 72% of the region’s population, according to the Census Bureau.
Benton County had 1,480 covid-19 cases with 864 recovered as of around 3 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Arkansas Department of Health. Washington County had 1,925 cases with 806 recovered.
