Arkansas sees improvements in key coronavirus tallies; death toll rises to 5,583

Barbara McDonald, an advanced practice registered nurse for UAMS, begins to screen patients Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020 during a drive-thru covid-19 testing at the Lonoke Community Center.
Barbara McDonald, an advanced practice registered nurse for UAMS, begins to screen patients Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020 during a drive-thru covid-19 testing at the Lonoke Community Center.

Arkansas officials on Friday reported a new nine-month low in active coronavirus cases, as well as a day-to-day and week-to-week reduction in new cases.

The Arkansas Department of Health reported that active cases fell by 34, to 2,061. That's the lowest number since the 1,909 cases reported on June 2. Active cases rose to 2,208 on June 3, and that number never fell back below 2,200 until this week.

The Health Department reported 184 new cases of the coronavirus around Arkansas on Friday. That's fewer than the number of cases added on Thursday, as well as the number added on the previous Friday, March 19.

After rising a day earlier, the number of patients hospitalized in the state with covid-19 fell by five, to 176.

The state's death toll from the virus since March 2020, as tracked by the Health Department, rose by 12, to 5,583.

"My optimism grows daily as the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continues to decline," Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in a statement. "We have administered more than a million doses of vaccine to more than 700,000 Arkansans."

Hutchinson said "the goal line is sight," adding, "I encourage you to receive a vaccination as soon as you are eligible. If you don't do it for yourself, do it for your family and friends.”

The number of the state's virus patients who were on ventilators fell by six, to 32.

More details in Saturday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

CORRECTION: Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in a statement late Friday that Arkansas has "administered more than a million doses of vaccine to more than 700,000 Arkansans." An earlier version of this story noted a previous, incorrect statement from the governor's office about how many Arkansans had received doses of vaccine.

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