News Flash

Street closure: Cedar Street

Cedar Street, between Whittington Avenue and Amber Street, will be closed until noon today, Mar. 3, for sewer repair.

Detour signs will be in place, and motorists are advised to use an alternate route when traveling in this area.

Operation Clean Sweep planned for areas of Valley St. and Shady Grove Rd.

The City’s first Operation Clean Sweep of 2021 is scheduled for Monday, March 8, through Friday, March 26, to include approximately 350 structures in the area of Valley Street and Shady Grove Road, between West Grand and Hollywood avenues, to Malvern Aven...

HS/GC COVID Task Force: Mitigation efforts, now guidelines, will continue

Gov. Asa Hutchinson changed the statewide COVID-19 directives to guidelines on Feb. 26, yet he and Secretary of Health Dr. Jose Romero said it is essential that individual behaviors regarding wearing masks, socially distancing and washing hands continue. ...

Free trees offered to Garland County businesses and residents

For Immediate Release

Contact: Colbie Jones

cjones@mhpteamsi.com

870-917-7819

Free trees offered to Garland County businesses and residents

The Arkansas Urban Forestry Council (AUFC) is offering free trees to Garland County businesses and residents to plant an...

Celebrate 100 years of Hot Springs as a national park at March 4th Anniversary Celebration

City seeks applicants for 32 board and committee positions

The City of Hot Springs will accept applications until noon on Friday, April 2, 2021, for a total of 32 volunteer positions on various City advisory boards and committees.

Applicants must be registered voters of the City of Hot Springs, unless otherwise sp...

Planning Commission Public Hearing on Mar. 11

The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Mar. 11, in the Board Chambers at City Hall, 133 Convention Boulevard, to consider the following:

• End of Five Points Road and Aberina Street – Preliminary subdivi...

Conservation efforts aid in water system recovery

With the recent winter storm and extreme cold temperatures, Hot Springs residents have been busy coping with frozen pipes. Because of the high number of broken services, Hot Springs Utilities has been working night and day to keep up with demand for water...

HS/GC COVID Task Force: Low testing numbers due to weather skews statistics

The week of Feb. 14-22 had the lowest total of COVID-19 test results recorded for Garland County since August due to the winter weather, but Garland County Health Officer Dr. Gene Shelby is still pleased by the continued downward trajectory of the county&...

Warmer temperatures ends need to run faucets

The City of Hot Springs and the Hot Springs Fire Department are asking everyone to stop running water faucets as a pipe-freezing preventative measure because temperatures are warming and conservation of water is required.

Experts have found that uninsulat...

Water conservation needed to avoid service disruption

With the water supply at a critical point at about 26% of storage capacity currently remaining, the City of Hot Springs Utilities Department is asking everyone to conserve water.

The water demand is currently greater than the Utility’s maximum p...

Water levels critical – ‘Please conserve’

The Hot Springs Utilities water system is at critically low levels, according to Utilities Director Monty Ledbetter. He is asking residents who might run their faucets tonight to do so at no more than slow drip, and for everyone to be in conservation mode...

HS/GC COVID Task Force: Weather inhibits COVID testing

Cold temperatures most likely led to a lower number of COVID-19 testing being done the week of Feb. 8-14, and the continued effects of inclement weather will likely skew the pandemic outlook for weeks ahead, according to Garland County Health Officer Dr. ...

Only slight drip needed to prevent pipes from freezing

The City of Hot Springs Utilities is asking residents who are keeping faucets running due to cold temperatures to be mindful of the amount of water being used, as only a slight drip is needed.

“We are making all the water we can and are losing gr...

Entergy Arkansas Responding to Outages from Winter Storm

Approximately 1,600 customers remained without power Sunday evening after about 7,000 were disrupted earlier in the day as winter weather blew across the state. Forecasts call for even more extreme temperatures, sleet, and snow this week, with an unpreced...

HS/GC COVID Task Force: Cases increase, but positivity rate and active cases hold steady

Although the week of Jan. 31 – Feb. 7 saw a 64% increase in the number of new COVID-19 cases reported in Garland County from the previous week, a higher number of test results kept the positivity rate steady and the number of active cases fell b...

Free Zoom Background Downloads Feature Scenes From Hot Springs and the National Park

VISIT HOT SPRINGS

134 Convention Boulevard • Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas   71901

1-800-922-6478 • 501-321-2027 • FAX 501-620-5008

www.hotsprings.org

________________________________________________________...

Hot Springs National Park implements federal mask requirement for COVID-19 prevention and protection

National Park Service                                        &...

HS/GC COVID Task Force: Cases declining; vigilance should remain

Garland County Health Officer Dr. Gene Shelby told the Hot Springs/Garland County COVID-19 Task Force at the meeting on Monday, Feb. 1, that the county has seen across the board improvement this past week. He warned, however, that there is a long road ahe...

On a vaccine waiting list? Be sure to answer your phone

Those in Garland County who have registered to be on a COVID-19 vaccine waiting list are encouraged to answer their phone as vaccination clinics continue to be scheduled. 

Those involved in vaccine distribution are using the waiting lists to conta...

HS/GC COVID Task Force: COVID numbers trending downward as vaccinations continue

Although a significant number of active COVID-19 cases remain in Garland County, the trend of new cases is on a downward slope as vaccinations continue for Phase 1-A groups and the start of Phase 1-B – education workers and those 70 and older.

A...

HS/GC COVID Task Force: High COVID numbers continue, but may be nearing peak

The number of new COVID-19 cases reported in Garland County for the week of Jan. 10-17 of 815 was a record high for the third-straight week, but with the holidays behind us, Garland County Health Officer Dr. Gene Shelby is hopeful that the county is at or...

HS/GC COVID Task Force: Record-setting trend continues to strain hospitals

The drastic upward trend of new COVID-19 cases in Garland County following the Christmas and New Year’s holidays is continuing, putting a strain on local hospitals.

“We have a surging, deadly pandemic that is getting worse here. The cha...

HS/GC COVID Task Force: Cases and hospitalizations continue post-holiday rise

Although the start of the vaccine rollout offers hope, it will still likely be months before doses of the vaccine are available for the general public. In the meantime, record-level COVID-19 statistics for Garland County, including rising hospitalizations...

HS/GC COVID Task Force: Hospitals at highest levels as task force dissuades COVID fatigue

At the virtual meeting of the Hot Springs/Garland County COVID-19 Task Force on Dec. 28, representatives from CHI St. Vincent and National Park Medical Center shared their anxiousness about a likely increase in cases in the weeks following the Christmas h...

HS/GC COVID Task Force: Garland County begins inoculating healthcare providers

As the active cases in Garland County continue to rise, the beginning of the phased distribution of COVID-19 vaccines was a primary topic of discussion at the Dec. 21 virtual meeting of the Hot Springs/Garland County COVID-19 Task Force.

CHI St. Vincent Ho...

HS/GC COVID-19 Task Force: Garland County COVID-19 numbers ‘off the charts’

Several COVID-19 statistics for the week of Dec. 6 – 13 in Garland County far exceeded previous record highs, according to Garland County Health Officer Dr. Gene Shelby at the Dec. 14 virtual meeting of the Hot Springs/Garland County Covid-19 Ta...

HS/GC COVID Task Force: Shorter quarantine guidelines for non-symptomatic close contacts

Representatives on the Hot Springs/Garland County Covid-19 Task Force are bracing for what may be a rise in post-Thanksgiving cases this week while preparing for a change in quarantine guidelines and upcoming vaccine deliveries.

During the Dec. 7 virtual t...

Hospitals in Hot Springs seeing their highest numbers of pandemic

Even though Garland County’s COVID-19 statistics remain on a plateau since the rise in cases ending around Nov. 15, the hospitals in Hot Springs are experiencing what they say are some of their highest numbers of the pandemic as they are treatin...

HS/GC COVID Task Force: Task force urges adherence to recommendations this holiday

Over the past week, Garland County’s COVID-19 statistics plateaued from the previous weeks’ upward trajectory, but health officials continue to urge area residents to be vigilant this Thanksgiving holiday.

Even though case numbers have stabilized, the coun...

HS/GC COVID-19 Task Force: More pandemic records set locally; ‘it’s everywhere’

“The virus has continued to spread throughout our community, our county, with no particular source; it’s everywhere,” said Garland County Health Officer Dr. Gene Shelby at the Nov. 16 virtual meeting of the Hot Springs/Garland County COVID-19 Task Force.

S...

HS/GC COVID Task Force: Past week's new case count total all-time high

As area nursing home COVID-19 cases begin to decline from the spike in recent weeks, community spread is keeping the number of new cases and the active case count at or near record high levels.

At the Nov. 9 meeting of the Hot Springs/Garland County COVID-...

Cases and deaths in area expected in increase due to COVID-19

With the active cases in Garland County at an all-time high for the second straight week and the greatest percentage of cases being in the most vulnerable population, Garland County Health Officer Dr. Gene Shelby fears that COVID-related deaths in the cou...

HS/GC COVID-19 Task Force: Active cases reach all-time high

The number of active COVID-19 cases in Garland County has risen to its highest number since the start of the pandemic at 247, according to Garland County Health Office Dr. Gene Shelby at the Oct. 26 virtual meeting of the Hot Springs/Garland County COVID-...

Garland County’s active cases and COVID-19 deaths rise in past week

Following a downward trend for COVID-19 cases in Garland County, the week of Oct. 11 – 18 saw a higher number of new cases, active cases and deaths, while there was a decrease in the number of tests performed.

“Unfortunately, last week was not a very good ...

HS/GC COVID-19 Task Force: Continued vigilance needed to keep local COVID curve flat

Hot Springs and Garland County continue to flatten the curve of COVID-19 cases, but members of the area COVID-19 task force caution that vigilance is needed to continue to keep down the spread of the virus.

“Our community cannot let our guard down. We have...

State and local health officials dissuade Covid fatigue

Recognizing that many people are experiencing fatigue in respect to the COVID-19 pandemic, Garland County Health Officer Dr. Gene Shelby seeks to remind the community of the deadly and communicable nature of this coronavirus.

At the Sept. 28 virtual meetin...

HS/GC COVID Task Force: No jump in cases following latest holiday weekend

Garland County Health Officer Dr. Gene Shelby is optimistic about where Garland County stands in the pandemic as two weeks have passed since Labor Day, yet the COVID-19 numbers locally have not increased as they did following Memorial Day and Independence...

HS/GC COVID Task Force: Schools seeking prospective substitute teachers/bus drivers

At this point in the pandemic, school superintendents across Garland County are more concerned that the quarantining of teachers and bus drivers could force a change to virtual learning more so than the threat of positive cases within school districts.

At ...

HS/GC COVID Task Force: Superintendents remind families of quarantine guidelines

If a member of a student’s household tests positive for COVID-19, the student is also required to quarantine rather than continuing to attend school in person. This was the primary message from superintendents during the virtual meeting of the Hot Springs...

Task force seeks to clarify state’s quarantine and isolation guidelines

During the Hot Springs/Garland County COVID-19 Task Force virtual meeting on Aug. 31, school superintendents from across Garland County reported a great first week, with hopes that communication from the task force can help clear up misunderstandings in t...

HS/GC COVID-19 Task Force: Garland County COVID cases and testing numbers are down

Garland County Health Officer Dr. Gene Shelby shared at the Aug. 24 meeting of the Hot Springs/Garland County COVID-19 Task Force that he is pleased with the current numbers for Garland County, but he continues to stress the importance of wearing masks an...

HS/GC COVID-19 Task Force: Garland County COVID trend continues in right direction

At the Hot Springs/Garland County COVID-19 Task Force virtual meeting on August 10, Garland County Health Officer Dr. Gene Shelby said that the COVID-19 numbers from the week of August 2-9 look better, and that he is pleased with the trend.

There were 171 ...

Garland County virus cases flatten, but positivity rate increases

COVID-19 numbers from Garland County for the week of July 2 – August 2 do show some “positive aspects compared to the previous two weeks” as new cases seem to be “leveling off,” said Garland County Health Officer Dr. Gene Shelby at the Hot Springs/Garland...

Garland County virus cases continue on ‘major upward trend’

Garland County averaged 30 new COVID-19 cases reported daily from July 19 – 26, with a total of 210 new cases for the week, according to Garland County Health Officer Dr. Gene Shelby at the Hot Springs/Garland County COVID-19 Task Force virtual meeting on...

$8.2 million available to Arkansans for electric utility assistance

The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) has an additional $8.2 million from the CARES Act to assist Arkansas households struggling with their electric bills.

Distribution of the funding will begin on July 27, and will continue through Sept. ...

Garland County virus cases more than double in past week

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and those under investigation more than doubled this past week from 90 on July 12 to 188 on July 19, and the number of active cases went from 65 to 150.

“Garland County is certainly in the mix of this pandemic,” said ...

Garland County positivity rate rises to 6.4%

Although the number of new and active cases in Garland County has plateaued, the positive rate of infection among the 732 tests done between July 5-12 rose to 6.4%, up from the previous week’s 2.7%.

Garland County Health Officer Dr. Gene Shelby shared at t...

Garland County positivity rate cut in half from previous week

There were 48 new COVID-19 cases reported in Garland County from June 28 – July 5, but because of a record number of tests performed, the positivity rate decreased from the previous week’s 5.8% to 2.7%.

Also, thanks to the number of recoveries in Garland C...

Garland County has increase of 50 new active COVID-19 cases

Following Hot Springs/Garland County COVID-19 Task Force virtual meeting on June 22, where case numbers had stabilized, data from the past week shared at the June 29 meeting showed an upward trend with 50 new cases.

Garland County Health Officer Dr. Gene S...