Arkansas health officials reported an additional 976 cases of covid-19 Sunday, down from the 2,543 cases recorded Saturday. It's the smallest daily increase since the Sunday after Christmas, and the year's first increase of fewer than 1,000 cases.
An additional 18 people died from the coronavirus Sunday, according to the Arkansas Department of Health. The state has now tallied 4,311 deaths related to covid-19 since the pandemic reached the state in March.
The additional cases of covid-19 recorded Sunday raises the state’s tally to 271,154 cases since the pandemic began. Of those, 24,887 cases were active as of Sunday, a drop of 917 from the previous day. Another 241,926 Arkansans are considered recovered from the virus.
The number of Arkansans hospitalized with the coronavirus is also down, with a total of 1,271 people, 21 fewer than the previous day. The number of patients on ventilators increased by seven to 221, according to the state Health Department.
Pulaski County still ranked first in the number of new cases of the coronavirus with 195, followed by Benton County with 85 and Washington County with 83. There were 911 cases of community spread and nine new cases at correctional facilities, according to the state Health Department.
Health officials administered an additional 5,233 doses of covid-19 vaccines during the 24-hour period. The state has used 47.6% of its vaccine doses, according to the state Health Department.
The state is set to begin Phase 1B of its vaccination protocol Monday. Under Phase 1B, people age 70 and older, teachers and school staff, childcare workers and higher education employees are eligible to receive the vaccine.