The state's count of coronavirus cases rose Thursday by 1,860 — the second-largest number of new cases in a single day since early February.
The state's death toll from the virus, as tracked by the Arkansas Department of Health, rose by 15, to 6,035. It was the third day this month in which Arkansas recorded 15 coronavirus deaths; the last time Arkansas had that many days was in March.
"The Delta Variant alarm bells are creating a greater sense of urgency to get vaccinated," Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in a tweet. "We have another day with the administration of over 9,000 vaccine doses, but let’s do even more for the safety of our children and families."
Except for a spike of 1,875 cases on Tuesday, the new case number Thursday was the largest since Feb. 4.
Already at its highest level since the week ending Feb. 10, the average number of cases added to the state's count each day over a rolling seven-day period rose to 1,298.
After rising to its highest level since Feb. 3 a day earlier, the number of covid-19 patients in the state's hospitals rose by one, to 849. It was the 17th consecutive day in which the number of hospitalized Arkansans increased.
The number who were on ventilators rose by two, to 158, the largest number since Jan. 26.
The number who were in intensive care units remained at 334.
With new cases outpacing recoveries, the number of covid-19 cases that were considered active rose to 12,779, the largest number since Feb. 11.
Meanwhile, Health Department figures continued to show an uptick in the state's vaccinations.
The increase in the number of vaccine doses that had been administered, including second doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, was at 9,268 on Thursday, bigger by more than 3,600 than the increase a week earlier.
The average number of doses administered each day over a rolling seven-day period rose to 7,623, the largest number since the week ending May 27.
More details in Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.