Arkansas' count of covid-19 cases rose by 1,536 on Sunday, a smaller-than-average new-case total that nevertheless came as the state reported 46 additional deaths from the virus.
Twenty-one of the newly reported deaths were classified as confirmed and 25 as probable, according to the Arkansas Department of Health.
The death toll in Arkansas increased to 3,237 with the new deaths reported on Sunday.
"The high number of Arkansans who have died is heartbreaking," Gov. Asa Hutchinson wrote on Twitter on Sunday afternoon. "As we are 5 days out from Christmas, let's protect each other. What we do will determine how we start our new year."
The Department of Health's tally of active cases declined for the first time in several days on Sunday, as more Arkansans were classified as having recovered from covid-19. The active-case count declined by 65, to 23,001, from Saturday's record high of 23,066.
After reaching more than 200,000 cumulative positive cases since the start of the pandemic on Saturday, the total number of reported positive cases increased to 201,650 on Sunday, more than nine months after the first coronavirus case in Arkansas was reported on March 11.
A total of 175,387 people among the pool of confirmed and probable covid-19 cases in Arkansas have recovered from the virus since the spring. That includes more than 1,170 additional recoveries among confirmed cases and more than 380 additional recoveries among probable cases reported on Sunday.
The number of hospitalizations and patients on ventilators, as tracked by the Department of Health, both declined slightly.
Hospitalizations dipped by four, to 1,057, and the number of patients using ventilators decreased by seven, to 170.
The Department of Health's total number of hospitalizations in Arkansas has not fallen below 1,000 ever since the metric first surpassed 1,000 on Nov. 25.
Sunday's new-case total represented a decrease from Saturday's 2,693 new cases.
Most of the new cases reported on Sunday -- 1,316 -- were classified as confirmed based on polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, tests. An additional 220 cases were classified as probable.
Testing remained high on Saturday, as results were reported from 12,172 PCR tests and 1,235 of the less-sensitive, rapid antigen tests.
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DEATHS BY COUNTY
Over two dozen of the 46 deaths reported on Sunday were from before December.
Of the 27 delayed reports, three occurred in September, 16 in October and eight in November, according to Department of Health spokeswoman Meg Mirivel.
Fifteen of the newly reported deaths were tied to nursing homes, Mirivel said in an email.
Nine deaths were reported in Benton County, six in Polk County, four in Pulaski County and three each in Lonoke, Crawford and Washington counties.
Pulaski County, the most populous in the state, led in terms of new cases, with 191, followed by Benton County, with 169; Washington County, with 149; Faulkner County, with 67, and Craighead County with 57.
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Thirty-four of the 1,316 new confirmed cases reported on Sunday were from correctional facilities, according to the Health Department.
To date, the greatest number of deaths has been reported in Pulaski County, with 344 confirmed and probable deaths. Northwest Arkansas' Benton and Washington counties have experienced 233 and 209 deaths, respectively.
LRSD CASES
The Little Rock School District reported six more positive covid-19 cases and 17 more individuals in quarantine between Friday and Sunday, according to the district's weekend covid-19 report.
One positive case each was reported among staff members at Booker Arts Magnet Elementary, Fair Park Early Childhood Center and Don R. Roberts Elementary.
One positive case each was reported among students at Parkview High School, Roberts Elementary and Southwest High School.
Additionally, 11 students at Parkview entered quarantine, according to the school district.