Arkansas recorded 626 new cases of covid-19 Friday, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said, including 189 in correctional facilities. The state also reported five more deaths, bringing the toll to 587.
The number of new cases Friday was lower than Thursday, which saw 652 new cases, and Wednesday, which saw 703. The seven-day rolling average of new cases has decreased for the past six days, according to graphics shown at the news conference.
Department of Health Secretary Jose Romero said 5,519 tests were performed in the previous 24 hours, a number on the higher side for August but still lower than many days in June and July.
A total of 73,150 tests have been conducted so far this month, meaning the state is not on track to meet its August testing goal of 180,000 if testing continues at the same rate.
The number of people hospitalized decreased by 7 to 466, Romero said, and the number of patients on a ventilator increased by one to 113.
The number of active cases was 6,359, including 62 in nursing homes, 778 in correctional facilities and 5,519 in the general population.
With the school year starting in less than two weeks, Romero said the Department of Health is working on a plan to contain any spread of covid-19 in schools.
He said if a staff member or student has symptoms of covid-19, they should go to a local county health unit for quick-result, point-of-care testing. Anyone who tests positive will go into the system for contact tracing, and anyone who tests negative will take a PCR test, considered more accurate, to be certain of their status.
Plans are also in the works, he said, to create up to 10 teams that can be deployed to schools for mass testing if an outbreak occurs.
Headed into another summer weekend, Romero asked Arkansans to be cautious and continue safety practices including wearing a mask, social distancing and frequent hand washing.
He also asked anyone who believes they need to be tested for covid-19 to report to local health units, which have seen a decline in recent days in the number of people seeking tests.
Hutchinson also announced that football teams can continue their intrasquad scrimmages through the weekend, then can have benefit games against other teams in the state beginning Monday.
However, teams cannot hold benefit games with multiple teams and can only have two teams at one event, according to the Arkansas Activities Association.
Also, Hutchinson announced that football and volleyball games cannot go over 66% capacity of their stadium or gymnasium. More guidance will be on the Arkansas Department of Health's website later today.
EARLIER:
Gov. Asa Hutchinson and state health officials will provide an update on Arkansas' covid-19 response at 1:30 p.m.
The total number of coronavirus cases reported in Arkansas remained at 51,766 Friday morning, according to a state website. The death toll remained at 582.
Check back to watch the live video.
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