The Arkansas Department of Health reported an additional 288 new cases of covid-19 Sunday, continuing a downward trend of reported cases from the previous months.
While the state reported an additional 288 new cases Sunday, in total, there were a much larger number of cases reported Sunday, as part of a “data clean-up.” Arkansas reported a total of 3,220 additional cases of covid-19 on Sunday, with the overwhelming majority of those cases, 2,932, occurring before Feb. 14.
Gavin Lesnick, a spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Health, explained that some covid-19 case numbers lag and that even daily numbers aren’t necessarily cases from the previous day.
“Really that’s just a part of this process, you know, we have so much data flowing in that there is going to be some clean up here and there,” Lesnick said.
The data clean-up also lowered the state death count from the coronavirus as the Health Department reclassified some covid deaths. In total, 5,243 people have died from covid-19 in Arkansas, 174 fewer than reported Saturday, according to the Health Department.
There were 455 people hospitalized with covid-19 Sunday, down by 20 from the previous day. It was the lowest tally since September.
Of those patients, 85 were on ventilators, 12 fewer than the previous day, according to the Health Department.
The Department of Health also lowered the number of vaccine doses given in the state to 585,785 as part of the state’s program, 286 fewer than reported Saturday. The state previously duplicated some dose numbers from Walmart, which participates in both the state and federal vaccination plans.
More details in Monday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.