Arkansas' count of coronavirus cases rose by 49 Monday - the smallest daily increase in more than a month - while the number of people hospitalized with the virus fell slightly.
The state's death toll from the virus, as tracked by the Department of Health, rose by three, to 5,820.
"Today's low number of new active cases is a cause for optimism and thankfulness," Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in a tweet.
"The cases usually go up during the week but today all indicators are positive."
The increase in cases was smaller by 18 than the the one a week earlier.
It was the smallest daily increase since April 18, when the case count rose by 45.
After rising by nine on Sunday, number of people hospitalized in the state with covid-19 fell by one, to 195.
The number of the state's virus patients who were on ventilators, however, rose for the second straight day, going from 33 as of Sunday to 39, its highest level in more than a week.
The number of covid-19 patients who were in intensive care rose by eight, to 93, its highest level since March 20.
With recoveries outpacing new cases, the number of cases that were considered active fell by 143, to 1,894.
It was the first time that number had dropped below 1,900 since April 27.
At 191, the average number of cases added to the state's tallies each day over a rolling seven-day period was down by about three from the average as of a day earlier but still above the average of 180 cases a day that were added during the week ending May 17.
Meanwhile, the Health Department reported that the number of vaccine doses that had been administered, including second doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines' two-dose regimens, increased by 2,371, to 1,932,022.
That was more than 700 doses fewer than the increase the previous Monday.
After rising to about 8,157 as of Sunday, the average number of doses administered each day over a rolling seven-day period fell to 8,054.