Arkansas' tallies of covid-19 patients in hospitals or on ventilators both fell sharply on Saturday. The number of hospitalized covid-19 patients fell more than 7% to 750, while ventilators in use fell almost 14%, to 124.
The state’s tally of new cases of the coronavirus increased by more than 1,300 on Saturday, while the tally of covid-19 deaths increased by 11, according to data released from the Arkansas Department of Health.
“There are 1,341 new covid-19 cases in Arkansas,” Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Saturday in a tweet. “This is nearly 500 fewer new cases than this time last week.”
Arkansas tallied exactly 1,824 new cases on the previous Saturday, Jan. 30, as well as on Friday. Friday's increase of 1,824 new cases was the third consecutive daily increase larger than the one a week earlier.
State officials said 58 fewer covid-19 patients were in hospitals as of Saturday afternoon, while 20 fewer patients were on ventilators.
“Let’s ensure we’re doing our part so these trends continue,” Hutchinson said.
The tally of hospitalized covid-19 patients is the lowest since the 741 reported on Nov. 8. The number of hospitalized patients surged in November, from a low of 642 on Nov. 4 to what was briefly a record-high 1,063 on Nov. 30.
The state’s current tally of active cases decreased by 133 to 16,811. The state's covid-19 death toll since the pandemic reached the state in March rose Saturday to 5,061.
Read more details in Sunday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.