Nine more deaths reported on Sunday brought the human toll of the covid-19 outbreak to 544 in Arkansas, according to the state Department of Health.
The Department of Health reported 572 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, fewer than in recent days. To date, Arkansas has experienced 49,383 cumulative infections during the course of the pandemic.
A total of 772 new cases were reported on Saturday and 1,011 on Friday, which marked the third-highest single-day increase in new cases for the state.
Announcing the latest cases on Twitter, Gov. Asa Hutchinson couched Sunday's 572 new cases in cautionary terms.
"While this number is encouraging, we must remember that COVID-19 is highly contagious when not wearing a mask. We have to continue to do our part to slow the spread," Hutchinson said in a tweet.
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The Department of Health reported that 133 of the 572 new cases reported on Sunday were in correctional facilities.
The number of active cases in the state increased by 88, from 7,299 to 7,387 on Sunday. That figure represents individuals who have neither recovered from the virus nor died.
Active cases have edged upward in Arkansas since around the third week of July, and Sunday's active case total of 7,387 represented a record high, according to a Department of Health spokeswoman.
Around the same point in time last month, the number of active cases was approximately 5,500 and on the rise after dropping below 6,000.
Hospitalizations increased by 17, from 497 to 514 on Sunday. The number of patients on ventilators fell by two, from 117 to 115.
On Saturday, results from 6,770 tests were reported in the state, the Department of Health reported. According to Department of Health spokeswoman Meg Mirivel, the positivity rate of tests was 7.7% on Saturday.
According to Mirivel, one death each occurred in Washington, Phillips and Howard counties, while Columbia, Garland and Crittenden counties saw two deaths apiece.
Between Friday and Sunday, the Department of Health reported 29 deaths related to covid-19 in the state -- six on Friday, 14 on Saturday and nine on Sunday.
Large increases in cases could be seen in Pulaski County, which recorded 102 new cases, as well as Sebastian County, with 43.
Other counties with sizable increases included Mississippi County with 32, Washington County with 30 and Saline County with 29.
Benton, Garland, Hot Spring, Jefferson and Faulkner counties had between 19 and 14 new cases.
Mississippi County had the most active cases out of the northeast Arkansas counties on Sunday, with 320, an increase of 20 from Saturday. Craighead County was close behind with 248 active cases, a decline of five from Saturday.
Active cases in Pulaski County rose by 51, from 764 to 815. Active cases in Benton County fell by eight, from 317 to 309. Active cases in Washington County remained the same at 379, according to the Department of Health's web portal tracking the outbreak.