Arkansas' count of coronavirus cases grew Thursday by 673 -- the second daily increase in a row that was significantly larger than the one a week earlier.
The number of people hospitalized in the state with covid-19 rose for the second-straight day, bringing it just shy of 300 less than a week after it dropped below that mark for the first time in more than four months.
The state's death toll from the virus, as tracked by the Department of Health, rose by 22, to 8,547.
"Active COVID cases have risen for the third day in a row," Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in a tweet, referring to people who have tested positive and are still considered potentially infectious.
Describing the increases -- 86 on Tuesday, 177 on Wednesday and 247 on Thursday -- as "slight," he said the rising total nevertheless "reminds us of the importance of getting vaccinated."
"If you have questions about the vaccine, consult with your trusted health care provider to make the best decision for your health," Hutchinson said.
The increase Thursday brought the active case total to 4,784, the largest number since Oct. 31.
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While smaller by two than Wednesday's, the number of new cases added Thursday was larger by 245 than the one the previous Thursday.
The average daily increase in the state's case count over a rolling seven-day period rose to 483, the highest average since the week ending Oct. 23.
"We've had a couple of days of marked increase in the number of new cases, which is worrisome," said Jennifer Dillaha, the Health Department's chief medical officer.
"We're hoping it's not a general trend, but it potentially could be."
She said the uptick could be related to Halloween parties and colder weather prompting people to move more activities indoors.
"We noticed last year after Halloween, we had an increase in cases, and it could be that we're seeing that now," Dillaha said.
"We're hoping it won't carry on into the winter, but it's very possible that it will."
She said some states and many European countries are experiencing surges in cases.
"We're going to have to watch and be careful in Arkansas if we don't want to also have a trend that's increasing in cases," Dillaha said.
The number of people hospitalized with covid-19 rose Thursday by 3, to 299.
The number of those patients who were on ventilators, however, fell by seven, to 59, its lowest level since June 18, after rising a day earlier.
The number of the state's virus patients who were in intensive care remained at 127.
A HIGHER PLATEAU
After falling sharply from the levels it reached during the summer surge, the average number of cases added to the state's count each day over a rolling-seven day period hit a recent low of 421 the week ending Nov. 1.
Since then, it has hovered above that level, rising above an average of 450 a day as of Thursday for the first time this month.
By contrast, after the winter surge that peaked in January, the average fell to less than 200 a day and remained around that level during April and May before ticking back up again in mid-June.
"We're at a higher level than we were in the spring, which is concerning because that means we have a larger reservoir of infected people to get outbreaks going in any kind of setting where there's an opportunity for an outbreak event," Dillaha said.
She said the stall in the decline of cases could be partly the result of waning immunity among people who were previously infected.
She said one study estimated that immunity from an infection could last anywhere from three months to five years, with an average duration of 16 months.
She said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has estimated that "a good proportion" of people who have been infected will have protection from a subsequent infection for about six months, which she said "seems reasonable" considering studies that have shown protection offered by vaccines waning after a similar amount of time.
"People need to get vaccinated, even if they've had an infection, and then get boosted to maintain their antibody levels at high enough levels so they can resist reinfection," Dillaha said.
She said people, whether vaccinated or not, should also wear masks when in public or at gatherings with people who are not part of their households.
"A lot of people are not doing that, and that's concerning because that gives the virus more opportunity to spread," she said.
CENTER'S REPORT
In contrast to the recent statewide uptick in cases, the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement said in a weekly report Thursday that, for the first time this school year, no public school districts had 50 or more new cases per 10,000 residents within their boundaries over a 14-day span.
The number during the most recent period, ending Monday, was down from nine a week earlier and a record-tying 201 districts during the two-week span ending Aug. 23.
"This is a positive trend, but #COVID19 is still present in all our communities: New daily cases statewide have exceeded 600 on each of the past three days," Joe Thompson, the center's CEO, said in a tweet.
"We must continue using all the tools we have to fight this virus."
The cases used to calculate the rates for each district include those among residents living within the district's boundaries, excluding incarcerated people, and residents of nursing homes and human development centers.
CASES BY COUNTY
Statewide, Benton County had the most new cases Thursday with 73, followed by Washington County with 65 and Pulaski County with 42.
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The state's cumulative count of cases rose to 518,348.
Dillaha said the increase in the state's death toll Thursday included 15 deaths that happened more than a month ago but were only recently reported to the department.
The number of people who have ever been hospitalized in the state with covid-19 grew by 29, to 27,885.
The number of the state's virus patients who have ever been on ventilators with covid-18 rose by four, to 2,952.
VACCINATIONS UP
Meanwhile, an uptick in vaccinations in the state continued for a third day in a row.
The Health Department's tally of doses that had been administered rose by 13,399, an increase that was larger by more than 1,400 than the one a week earlier.
Third doses, including booster shots of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for people who received their second doses at least six months ago, made up 46% of the most recent increase.
The department's count of first doses rose by 4,466, the second daily increase in a row that was more than twice the size of the one a week earlier.
More than 1,000 first doses of the Pfizer vaccine went to children ages 5-11, who became eligible for the shots in Arkansas last week after guidance was issued by the CDC.
A total of 6,032 children in that age group had received their first doses as of Thursday morning, according Health Department spokeswoman Danyelle McNeill.
Dillaha said the number had risen further, to 6,562, in a report she received Thursday afternoon.
The total number of doses administered to Arkansans of all ages each day over a rolling seven-day period rose to 10,110, the first time it had been above 10,000 since the week ending Nov. 2.
The average for first doses rose to 3,037, topping 3,000 for the first time since the week ending Sept. 7.
According to the CDC, 58.7% of Arkansans of all ages had received at least one vaccine dose as of Wednesday, and 48.5% had been fully vaccinated.
The agency didn't update its publicly reported data Thursday because of the Veterans Day holiday.
Among the states and District of Columbia, Arkansas ranked 36th in the percentage of its population that had received at least one dose and 44th, ahead of Louisiana, North Dakota, Mississippi, Alabama, Wyoming, Idaho and West Virginia, in the percentage that were fully vaccinated.
Nationally, 67.7% of people had received at least one dose, and 58.5% were fully vaccinated.