LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas’ governor has granted health care providers and businesses protections against coronavirus lawsuits as the number of people testing positive and hospitalized with COVID-19 continue to climb. Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Monday signed executive orders granting immunity to businesses and providers who don’t engage in willful or reckless conduct during the pandemic. The Republican governor also signed another order assuring workers’ compensation coverage for employees infected with the virus because of their job. The orders follow a push by Republican lawmakers who had called on the governor to convene a special session to take up the protections.
