State adds 1,984 new covid cases, most for a Sunday since January

Barbara McDonald, an advanced practice registered nurse for UAMS, begins to screen patients Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020 during a drive-thru covid-19 testing at the Lonoke Community Center. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Staci Vandagriff)
Barbara McDonald, an advanced practice registered nurse for UAMS, begins to screen patients Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020 during a drive-thru covid-19 testing at the Lonoke Community Center. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Staci Vandagriff)

Arkansas reported new covid-19 cases totaling 1,984 on Sunday — the largest increase reported on a Sunday by the Arkansas Department of Health since Jan. 10.

It was almost twice as many cases as the 1,022 new cases reported a week earlier. The only Sundays this year that recorded more new coronavirus cases were Jan. 3 and Jan. 10, which saw 2,033 and 3,330 new cases of the virus, respectively.

Sunday's new cases upped the state's tally of coronavirus cases to 388,436 since the pandemic arrived in Arkansas in March of last year.

The state's official death toll rose by 16. Arkansas health officials say 6,157 Arkansans have died of the virus, including a reported 103 in the week ending Sunday.

Active cases across the state have increased by 948 to 19,738.

The department reported 1,139 people hospitalized with the virus, an increase of 34 people from Saturday. An additional 13 people are on ventilators, raising the total to 235.

"If you have concerns about the vaccine, please speak with those you trust to get the facts. The vaccine is saving lives," Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in his near-daily Twitter post about the pandemic.

The vaccine numbers are up from last week, Hutchinson noted.

Another 7,149 doses were administered, according to Sunday's report, with 1,940 individuals becoming fully immunized.

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