The Arkansas Department of Health reported 694 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, down from the previous Wednesday's one-day increase of 828 cases.
The day's rise in the number of reported deaths, however, was the largest in almost two weeks. Health Department officials reported 16 additional coronavirus deaths on Wednesday, raising the state's official death toll from the virus since March 2020 to 8,643.
With new coronavirus cases outpacing recoveries and deaths, the number of cases in the state that were considered active rose by 83, to 6,163. For the second consecutive day Wednesday, the graphic used on Gov. Asa Hutchinson's daily social media post about the coronavirus showed one fewer active case than the Health Department's covid-19 dashboard.
Meanwhile, the number of vaccine doses that providers reported having administered in Arkansas, including second doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, rose by 14,133 to 3,375,060.
"A small increase in active cases today, but just over 14,000 more vaccinations were given out over the last 24 hours," Hutchinson said on social media Wednesday afternoon. "This is great news as we continue to fight this virus into the holiday season. Have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!"
The number of patients hospitalized with covid-19 fell by one, to 344, while the number of virus patients who were on ventilators increased by six, to 66.
More details in Thursday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.