Arkansas’ COVID-19 case count remained steady on Thursday with more than 2,000 new cases reported by the Arkansas Department of Health.
There were 2,202 new cases reported on Thursday, lifting the state’s total count to 178,854 since the pandemic’s start. Of the new cases, there were 1,704 confirmed cases and 498 probable cases.
This was a slight dip from Wednesday’s count, when the department reported 2,327 new cases.
However, the number of active cases soared on Thursday, rising by 904. This was a dramatic rise after rising by 304 the previous day. Of the new active cases, 761 were confirmed and 197 were probable.
There are currently 19,723 active cases in Arkansas, with 15,342 confirmed and 4,381 probable.
Deaths rose at the same rate as yesterday with 34 new deaths reported. The majority of these deaths – 27 – were probable deaths due to COVID-19, while seven were confirmed. There have been 2,820 deaths attributed to COVID-19 in Arkansas since the beginning of the pandemic.
Hospitalizations dropped significantly on Thursday, although ventilator usage increased. There were 59 less hospitalizations compared to Wednesday, bringing the state’s total to 1,005. The ventilator usage increase by two to 181.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson released a statement, commenting that the hospitalization was a “good sign” but he cautioned Arkansans to continue following health department guidelines.
“Yesterday saw a very strong day of testing, with over 18,000 total tests administered. A decrease in hospitalizations is a good sign, but this has not been the trend. Continue to wear a mask, wash your hands, and watch your distance as you are out and about,” he said.
Yesterday, the State of Arkansas had 14,242 PCR tests reported, bringing the state’s total to 114,390 for the month. There were also 4,133 antigen tests, bringing the month’s total so far to 23,833.
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