Arkansas reported Sunday that more people recovered from the coronavirus than caught it during the 24-hour period, sending the number of active cases back below 10,000. However, the 422 new cases reported on Sunday was the most for that day since October.
In addition, the number of Arkansas patients hospitalized with covid-19 rose by 15 on Sunday, according to data from the Arkansas Department of Health.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson posted the covid-19 update on social media Sunday afternoon, but did not comment on the numbers as he typically does, only stating, “Today’s Covid update.”
The 422 cases of the coronavirus reported Sunday was 602 cases lower than the 1,024 reported on Saturday, and it was the lowest during a seven-day period that saw case numbers climb to a high of 1,719 on Friday.
However, it was also 16 more cases than were reported the previous Sunday, and almost double the 216 cases reported on Sunday, Dec. 12. The last Sunday with more announced new cases was Oct. 10, with 467 cases.
Case reports typically slow down on weekends, especially near holidays.
The cumulative total of Arkansas cases of covid-19 since the virus reached the state in March 2020 is now 550,413, according to the Health Department.
Active cases dropped by 91 to 9,942, which is still the second-highest number of active cases in a 12-week period. On the same day a week earlier, the reported number of active cases was 7,693.
The number of patients hospitalized with covid-19 rose by 15 to 482 on Sunday, lower by 34 from a week ago.
Those coronavirus patients who were on ventilators rose by five to 118.
The state’s death toll from the virus since March 2020, as tracked by the Health Department, rose by eight to 9,066.
The number of vaccine doses that providers reported having administered, including second and third doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, rose by 612 to 3,665,749.
More details in Monday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.