The Arkansas Department of Health reported 22 new deaths from covid-19 on Friday, the highest recorded toll in a single day since the pandemic reached the state in March.
State Health Secretary Dr. Jose Romero said that four of those deaths occurred in July and only became known to the Health Department over the previous day due to delayed reporting. Half of the deaths reported on Friday occurred in nursing homes, he said.
Meanwhile, the state saw 887 new cases of the virus reported on Friday along with 10 additional hospitalizations.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson said that the numbers reported Friday were a troubling increase following a week in which both new and active cases appeared to be on the decline. “I hope that is not reflective of where we will be tomorrow or the next day,” he said.
There were 5,854 active cases of the virus on Friday, Romero said. Since the start of the pandemic, a total of 55,652 Arkansans have tested positive.
With public schools set to open Monday, Hutchinson offered a warning on poor behavior that he said was preventing the state from seeing a continued drop in cases.
“Clearly what we’re seeing is that we’ve had a number of clusters from group gatherings,” Hutchinson said. “That is not smart, it is not good, that leads to cases and that leads to death.”
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 54,765 Friday morning, according to a state website. The death toll remained at 641.
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