The number of people hospitalized in Arkansas with coronavirus as well as the number of patients in intensive care units and on ventilators reached a new high Monday - even as the case count dipped to 1,268, the lowest it's been in more than two weeks.
The number of virus patients in the state's hospitals rose by 31 to 1,371.
In a statement, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said the additional hospitalizations will add to the load of the state's health care workers.
"The better news in the new cases are starting to slow somewhat," Hutchinson said. "Let's work toward a true downward trend."
Those patients included 268 who were on ventilators, up from 31 the previous day.
The number of covid-19 patients in intensive care units rose Monday by 17, to 458.
The state's cumulative count of cases rose to 256,344.
The number of cases that were considered active fell by 1,958, to 25,534.
The state's death toll from the virus, as tracked by the Department of health, increased by 38 to 4,081.
Read Tuesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.