Arkansas had a record high on Monday when the number of deaths attributed to covid-19 hit 53, according to Department of Health data.
The Health Department reported 40 deaths Sunday and 34 Saturday.
"This high number of our friends and neighbors losing their lives is a tough reminder of our responsibility to follow the public health guidelines each day," Gov. Asa Hutchinson said.
There were 1,118 new covid-19 cases reported Monday, a decrease of 424 from the previous day. There have been a cumulative total of 172,042 cases since the pandemic hit the state.
The active cases in the state, fell to 18,057, a drop of 693 cases.
Hospitalizations fell by 23 to 1,053 while the number of covid-19 patients in an intensive care unit increased by 11 to 385.
The number of covid-19 patients on ventilators increased by two to 181.
Hutchinson announced Monday that he will provide a State of Arkansas address at 7 p.m. Thursday, which will be broadcast on various media outlets.
Hutchinson will also travel the state this week to hold community meetings to focus attention on and develop local action plans to fight the current virus surge.
The first town hall will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Benton Event Center in Benton. The other community meetings will be held Wednesday at 10 a.m. at The Jones Center in Springdale and Thursday at 10:30 a.m. at the Red Wolf Convention Center in Jonesboro.
Hutchinson said additional community meetings will be announced next week.
Masks and social distancing is required. The governor asked if a person is sick, has a fever, has exhibited symptoms of the virus or has been exposed to someone with covid-19, to not attend the events.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misstated the days in which record numbers of virus-related deaths were reported.
EARLIER:
LITTLE ROCK — Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced plans Monday for a series of community meetings across Arkansas to address the growing surge of coronavirus cases.
Hutchinson's office said that the governor will have meetings this week in Benton, Springdale and Jonesboro, followed by additional meetings in other cities next week. The governor also planned to give a speech Thursday night for a statewide audience.
Hutchinson said last week that he's considering requiring state approval for smaller indoor events. Under the state's current coronavirus restrictions, indoor events with more than 100 people expected must have a plan approved beforehand by the state.
But overall, the Republican governor has resisted calls for widespread restrictions, such as stricter capacity requirements on indoor dining, which has been recommended by the White House Coronavirus Task Force.
Arkansas' rolling average number of daily new virus cases has increased by 21% over the past two weeks, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University. One in every 205 people in Arkansas tested positive in the past week, researchers said.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up within weeks. But for others, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, the virus can cause severe symptoms and be fatal.
— The Associated Press