Arkansas reports 244 covid cases, no new deaths

Shanda Henry (front) of Little Rock holds hands with her daughter, Myah Henry, 13, as she gets her first dose of the Pfzier coronavirus vaccine Saturday, May 15, 2021 from Haley Wilson, a registered nurse, during a vaccination clinic at Dunbar Community Center in Little Rock. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Staci Vandagriff)
Shanda Henry (front) of Little Rock holds hands with her daughter, Myah Henry, 13, as she gets her first dose of the Pfzier coronavirus vaccine Saturday, May 15, 2021 from Haley Wilson, a registered nurse, during a vaccination clinic at Dunbar Community Center in Little Rock. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Staci Vandagriff)

Arkansas' count of coronavirus cases rose Wednesday by 244 - the second daily increase in a row that was bigger than the one a week earlier.

For the first time in more than a month, the Department of Health didn't report any new deaths from the virus.

The number of people hospitalized in the state with covid-19 remained at 188.

"The good news is that we recorded no additional covid-19 deaths in today’s report," Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in a tweet.

"We also saw a higher increase in vaccine doses distributed than this time last week. Vaccine doses are available in every county in the state, so get vaccinated today."

The last time the state didn't report any new covid-19 deaths was April 11.

The increase in cases on Wednesday was smaller than the 313 that were added a day earlier but larger, by 20, than the increase a week earlier.

As a result, the average number of cases added to the state's tallies each day over a rolling seven-day period rose by about three, to 195.

The number of the state's virus patients who were on ventilators rose by three, to 35.

The number of vaccine doses that had been administered, including second doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, rose by 9,788, to 1,892,738.

It was the first increase in five days that was larger than the one a week earlier.

At 8,666, the average number of doses administered per day over a rolling seven day period was up slightly from the number as of a day earlier but still down from the average of more than 9,400 per day that were administered during the week ending May 12.

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