Arkansas' death toll from the coronavirus rose by one on Tuesday, to 43, while the number of cases increased to 2,227, Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced.
Most of the new cases -- 262 since the previous afternoon -- were inmates at the Cummins Unit in Lincoln County.
Nate Smith, secretary of the Arkansas Department of Health, said a total of 670 inmates and 10 staff members at the prison had tested positive as of Monday evening.
The department has finished testing inmates there but is continuing to test staff members, he said.
At his daily news conference on the coronavirus, Hutchinson also said he had signed an executive order appointing a working group to examine the state's testing capacity.
"We have to do more testing," Hutchinson said.
Steuart Walton also reported on the first meeting of the state's economic recovery task force. He said the group will have a set of recommendations on May 4, an interim report by the end of May and a final report by the end of June.
– Andy Davis
12:06 p.m.: Gov, state health officials to give 1:30 p.m. virus update; official case tally rises by 67
The official count of positive coronavirus cases reported by the Arkansas Department of Health has increased by 67.
The agency reported 1,990 confirmed cases late Tuesday morning. The number of deaths remained unchanged since Monday, at 42.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson and state health officials, will provide an update on the state’s covid-19 response at 1:30 p.m. Check back to watch the live video.
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