Arkansas on Thursday reported the largest one-day increase in covid-19 cases since Sept. 24, according to data from the state Department of Health.
Another 1,314 cases of the coronavirus were reported on Thursday, raising the cumulative total since March 2020 to 547,248.
"I expect today to be the last day of full data until next week due to the Christmas holiday," Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Thursday in a social media post. "Let’s stay safe this week as we gather with family."
With new cases outpacing recoveries, the number of cases in the state that were considered active rose by 633, to 8,595. It was the largest number of cases considered currently infectious since the Health Department recorded 9,543 active cases on Oct. 3.
The state's death toll from the virus since March 2020, as tracked by the Health Department, rose by 13 to 9,020.
The number of patients hospitalized with covid-19 rose by one, to 495, remaining well below the 529 covid hospitalizations recorded on the same day a week ago. The number of virus patients who were on ventilators rose by nine to 107.
More details in Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.