Covid-19 cases in Arkansas increased by 642 on Sunday, according to the state Department of Health, a decline from the approximately 1,000 new cases the state saw on two consecutive days late last week. But Arkansas surpassed another grim milestone after two additional deaths related to covid-19 pushed the total number of reported victims to 401.
The two latest victims resided in Benton and Chicot counties.
Active cases statewide increased by 101, from 6,499 to 6,600 on Sunday.
The cumulative number of documented covid-19 infections in Arkansas since the beginning of the outbreak had reached 38,623 as of Sunday. The Health Department listed 31,622 people as having recovered from the virus.
Of the new cases reported on Sunday, 16 were in correctional facilities and 626 in the community, according to Health Department spokeswoman Meg Mirivel.
Patients hospitalized because of covid-19 increased by one for a total of 480 as of Sunday, Mirivel said, and the number of individuals on a ventilator declined by two to 103.
The number of individuals in the hospital with the virus hit a record high for Arkansas on Friday, with 497 people receiving treatment in a medical facility.
"The trends in hospitalization will lag behind the trends in cases because the cases are people who are newly diagnosed," state epidemiologist Dr. Jennifer Dillaha said in a phone interview Sunday. "But people oftentimes will not become seriously ill from covid-19 until after they've had it one or two, or even three, weeks."
Dillaha added that she hopes a downward trend in new cases over time will be followed by a similar decline in hospitalizations.
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The Health Department reported that 5,082 tests were conducted on Saturday, with an overall positivity rate of 8.5%, according to Mirivel. However, the number of tests was down from Friday, when 5,861 tests were conducted.
As the end of the month approaches, Arkansas is unlikely to meet a goal of 200,000 covid-19 tests in July. The total number of tests conducted so far this month is 157,284, according to Mirivel, with less than a week remaining to meet the 200,000 benchmark.
When asked if she thought it was a mistake for Gov. Asa Hutchinson in June to move to the second phase of lifting restrictions on businesses in spite of climbing case numbers, Dillaha said, "Well, I think it was a difficult decision because, of course, we have seen [an] increase in cases and continuing deaths from covid-19 over time."
"And yet there are other impacts that the pandemic may have with regard to negative effects on people that could also result in death, or economic or different hardships from people if we don't open," she continued.
Dillaha described seeking a balance between managing the direct and collateral effects of the covid-19 outbreak.
Now, she said, it will be important for people to find a way to go about their business "in the context of living in a pandemic," which means resuming their activities from before the virus outbreak, but in a different way.
"And some of those differences are going to continue to be the social distancing, frequent hand-washing, [and] wearing a cloth face covering to prevent the spread while we go about our business in day-to-day life," she said.
Asked whether she or other Health Department officials urged the governor to refrain from moving to the second phase of reopening, Dillaha said, "I'm not aware of anyone. I wasn't there, so I can only talk from my experience."
Today marks one week since the governor's statewide mask mandate went into effect. After declining to issue such an order even as case numbers surged, Hutchinson changed course on July 16 and said he would require Arkansans to wear face coverings in public settings, with a few exceptions, when social distancing of 6 feet or more is not achievable.
The five counties with the most new cases on Sunday were Washington with 86, Benton with 53, Pulaski with 49, Sebastian with 48, and Jefferson with 25.
Active cases in Pulaski County as of Sunday stood at 915, representing an overall decline since Friday, when the Health Department noted 978 active cases in the county. But in the two most populous counties in Northwest Arkansas, active cases rose between Saturday and Sunday.
In Benton County, active cases increased slightly from 389 to 397. In Washington County, active cases rose from 509 to 537. Active cases in Sebastian County also rose, from 362 to 376.