Arkansas' count of coronavirus cases rose Tuesday by 313 - the largest daily increase in almost a month.
Already at its highest level since May 4, the number of people hospitalized in the state with covid-19 rose by two, to 188.
The state's death toll from the virus, as tracked by the Department of Health, rose by nine, to 5,805.
"With over 300 new cases today, we’re reminded of the importance of getting vaccinated," Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in a tweet.
"Covid-19 is still present in our state and communities, but we have plenty of vaccine doses to put this pandemic behind us. Why risk covid-19 when you can get vaccinated?"
The increase in cases was the first one in four days that was larger than the one a week earlier and the first since a spike of 352 cases on April 21 that topped 300.
It came despite daily testing numbers that were lower than what the Health Department reported the previous Tuesday.
The 1,603 polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, test results that were reported was down was down by 71 from the number reported a week earlier, and the 802 antigen tests that were reported was down by 409.
The average number of cases added to the state's tallies over a rolling seven-day period rose by about 11, to 192.
That remained slightly below the average daily increase of 194 cases a day during the week that ended May 11, however.
The number of the state's virus patients who were on ventilators rose for the third straight day, going from 31 as of Monday to 32.
Health Department figures also showed a continued slowdown in the pace of vaccinations.
The average number of doses administered per day over a rolling seven-day period, including second doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, fell from about 8,822 as of Monday to 8,573 as of Tuesday.
The number has mostly fallen since it peaked at more than 23,000 in early April.
Read Wednesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for the full story.