New covid-19 cases and hospitalizations continued their upward trend in Arkansas on Saturday, according to data published by the state Department of Health.
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The state saw 805 new cases Saturday, bringing the total to 532,973 since the pandemic began in March 2020. The number of Arkansans hospitalized with the virus increased by one to 434, the ninth daily increase in a row, and four more patients were put on ventilators for a total of 84.
The state recorded 22 new deaths of covid-19 Saturday.
Health Department communications director Meg Mirivel said the data follows a familiar pattern.
"We saw cases rise around this same time last year following holidays and the start of cooler weather, when other respiratory viruses tend to circulate more commonly too," Mirivel said in an email.
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However, the number of covid-19 patients in intensive care dropped for the second day in a row, falling by two to 169 Saturday.
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Additionally, the state saw its highest number of covid-19 vaccine doses given in two weeks with 14,844, five fewer than Nov. 20, according to Health Department data.
"This is good news as cold weather is approaching and we're in the swing of the holidays," Gov. Asa Hutchinson tweeted Saturday. "Let's continue to get vaccinated as we fight COVID."
As of Saturday, 319,168 Arkansans have received third doses of the vaccines.
Mirivel said the uptick in vaccinations could have several causes.
"Some of those are booster or third doses, but we continue to see steady first doses," she said. "There are multiple possibilities. First, these will include children in the 5-11 age range who are just now eligible for vaccination. Others who wanted to 'wait and see' could be deciding to get vaccinated after seeing their friends and family getting vaccinated safely. And others could be seeing the uptick in cases or the news about omicron and choosing to be vaccinated."
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The omicron variant, first discovered in South Africa on Nov. 26, has since been discovered in the U.S. Mirivel said the delta variant is still the most common variant in the state, but the Health Department is "keeping a close watch" on omicron.
Benton County had the most new cases in Arkansas on Saturday with 96, according to Health Department data. Pulaski County had 53 new cases, and Washington County had 48.
A total of 8,721 Arkansans have died of the virus since March 2020.