Arkansas COVID-19 deaths at 40 after health worker dies

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The first death of a health care worker in Arkansas due to the coronavirus is among two additional deaths in the state due to COVID-19.

State Health Secretary Dr. Nathaniel Smith said Sunday that the worker at Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Pine Bluff has died along with a nursing home resident, bringing the number of deaths in the state to 40.

The number of coronavirus cases rose by 42 to at least 1,781.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson also said nearly 2,000 state prison inmates will be reviewed for possible release as the number of inmates at the state’s maximum security prison has risen by 118 to 348.