The number of new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths continue to rise in the state of Arkansas.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson reported 990 new cases from yesterday, bringing the cumulative number of cases to 37,249.
While there were various counties with more than 20 new cases, the top seven counties were Pulaski with 144, Washington with 82, Benton and Newton with 55, Sebastian with 38 and Jefferson and Pope with 37.
The number of hospitalizations has nearly reached 500 with 497, up 17 from yesterday. However, the new hospitalizations are relatively spread out.
The governor noted that there were four at Washington Regional Medical Center, four at Baptist Health in Fort Smith, three at Baptist Health in Little Rock and three at Northeast Baptist Memorial Hospital in Jonesboro.
“So you can see from that it’s spread out around the state which is good news and doesn’t strain our capacity to a great extent,” he said.
There were 8,015 tests completed yesterday, a higher number than what has been performed in the recent days.
“Some of the best news is that we have got the commercial labs responding more [and] hopefully that will be a pattern that will continue in the future [to] allow us to be testing at the higher level across the state,” Hutchinson said.
According to acting Secretary of Health Dr. Jose Romero, the number of deaths increased by eight to 394. The number of active cases in Arkansas is 7,028 with 6,326 in the community, 552 in correctional facilities and 148 in nursing homes.
Both state officials reminded Arkansans as the weekend approaches to be careful and follow the public health guidelines.
“Follow all the guidelines, wear your mask, make sure that you socially distance if you go outside,” the governor said. “Just be careful because it’s the backyard barbecues, it’s the swim parties, it’s other things that we’re not careful in that [they] can lead to the spread of this.
Romero pointed out that “we have an opportunity to change the curve and that has been predictive even in the models that are out there.” He encouraged all Arkansans to wear their masks and practice social distance.
“The weekend is here, but it’s not the old weekend,” said Romero. We need to keep these things in mind.”\
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