The number of people hospitalized with covid-19 in Arkansas rose Friday for the third straight day as the state's count of cases rose by 732.
The state's death toll from the virus, as tracked by the Department of Health, rose by nine, to 8,608.
"New and active cases continue to be above the previous week's levels," Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in a tweet.
"While this is not the news we want to see, it is good that our vaccines continue to increase. Let's continue our fight against COVID-19."
While smaller than the ones the previous three days, the increase in cases on Friday was larger by 217 than the one a week earlier, continuing an uptick in new cases that a top state health official has said appears to be the beginning of a new surge.
The average daily increase over a rolling seven-day period rose to 618, the first time it had been above 600 in more than a month.
The number of virus patients in the state's hospitals rose by 12, to 316, the largest number since Nov. 3.
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After rising the previous five days, however, the number who were on ventilators fell by four, to 65.
The number who were in intensive care rose by six, to 130, after falling the previous day.
The number of the state's intensive care unit beds that were unoccupied fell by 13, to 92, with covid-19 patients continuing to make up about 12% of all the people in intensive care.
With new cases outpacing recoveries and deaths, the number of cases in the state that were considered active rose by 262, to 6,143, topping 6,000 for the first time since Oct. 17.
SCHOOLS A 'DRIVER'
After going a month without a daily case increase that topped 700, Arkansas posted increases of 814 cases on Tuesday, 828 on Wednesday and 907 on Thursday.
Dr. Jennifer Dillaha, the Health Department's chief medical officer, called it "hopeful" that the increase on Friday was smaller than the ones the past few days, but she said the case increases generally have tended to be lower toward the end of the week, possibly because the results from people who developed symptoms over the weekend have already been counted.
She said the state still appears to be at the beginning of a new surge in cases initially sparked by Halloween-related gatherings.
More recently, transmission among children in schools has been a "significant driver," she said.
"What we are seeing is an increased number of pediatric cases," Dillaha said.
"They're about 30% of the current active cases, and we're seeing in-school transmission to a much greater degree than we did in the past.
"We know from our experience with other respiratory viruses, when they spread in the school setting, they end up increasing spread in the community because kids take infection home to their households and after-school activities."
She said the Health Department is studying how varying mask policies are affecting transmission in schools.
It isn't yet known whether loosened state guidelines on quarantines in schools are also contributing to the uptick, she said.
NORTHERN HOT SPOT
Per 10,000 residents, the largest numbers of active cases as of Friday were in a contiguous group of counties in north-central Arkansas.
Stone County had the most, 69 per 10,000 residents, followed by Izard County with 65 per 10,000; Lawrence, Fulton, Jackson and Independence counties with about 63 per 10,000 each; Sharp County with 52 per 10,000; Marion County with 49 per 10,000; and Searcy County with 42 per 10,000.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the percentage of residents in those counties who had been fully vaccinated ranged from 29.7% in Fulton County to 42.5% in Lawrence County.
Statewide, 48.9% of Arkansans had been fully vaccinated as of Friday, up from 48.8% a day earlier.
"I think that when you get a community where there's a lot of spread, it just finds its way to nearby communities of people who have a connection and spreads among those who aren't immune, so it's gotten going in that part of the state," Dillaha said.
"They have low vaccination rates in some of those counties and the community spread is ongoing."
The recent spike in Independence County, combined with a large number of teacher and student absences, prompted the Batesville School District to announce Thursday that it would hold classes virtually Monday and Tuesday, heading into the holiday break.
Among the state's most populous counties, the number of active cases per 10,000 residents as of Friday was 14 in Pulaski County, 20 in Benton County, 17 in Washington County, 23 in Sebastian County and 25 in Faulkner County.
The percentage of residents in those counties who were fully vaccinated ranged from 52% in Pulaski County to 44.3% in Faulkner County.
CASES BY COUNTY
Pulaski County and Benton counties tied Friday for the most new cases, with 65 each.
Washington County had the next highest number, 52.
The state's cumulative count of cases rose to 523,192.
Dillaha said eight of the deaths reported Friday happened within the past month, and the other occurred in September.
She said 6.9% of the state's coronavirus tests were positive during the seven-day span ending Thursday, up from the 6.8% that was initially reported for the week ending Wednesday.
Hutchinson has said he wants to keep the percentage below 10%.
The number of people who have ever been hospitalized in the state with covid-19 grew by 45, to 28,089.
The number of the state's virus patients who have ever been on a ventilator rose by four, to 2,966.
BOOSTERS URGED
Meanwhile, Dillaha said she was hoping the Friday endorsement by the CDC of booster shots for all adults who received their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine at least six months ago would encourage more Arkansans to get the shots.
Arkansas was among several states that had already expanded eligibility for the boosters ahead of the CDC's recommendation.
Dillaha noted that providers agree to follow the CDC's recommendations when they sign up to administer the shots.
"I think it will offer reassurance to our vaccinators that they are adhering to the requirements of being part of the vaccination program," Dillaha said of the CDC's endorsement.
She said the vaccines' effectiveness against preventing infection wanes over time even as they continue to offer strong protection against severe illness.
Even mild infections, however, can cause disruption by causing people to miss work or classes and can result in long-term complications such as fatigue and shortness of breath.
People with mild infections can also pass the virus to others, she said, so getting the booster shot helps to suppress the virus' spread in the community.
According to the CDC, 18% of Arkansans who were fully vaccinated had received a booster shots as of Friday, up from 17.1% as of a day earlier.
Among the 76.9% of Arkansans age 65 and older who were fully vaccinated, 38.3% had received a booster dose.
VACCINATIONS UP
At 11,254, the increase in the Health Department's tally of vaccine doses that had been administered was the first one in four days that was larger than the one a week earlier.
Booster doses made up almost 56% of the most recent increase.
The count of first doses rose by 3,184, which was slightly larger than the increase in first doses a week earlier.
The number of children age 5-11 years old who had received their initial shots rose by 748, to 15,639.
The average number of total doses administered each day over a rolling seven-day period rose to 9,570, which was still down by more than 700 from the average a week earlier.
After falling a day earlier, the average for first dose rose to 3,231, which was up slightly from the previous week.
According to the CDC, 59.6% of Arkansans had received at least one vaccine dose as of Friday, up from 59.4% a day earlier.
Among the states and District of Columbia, Arkansas continued to rank 36th in the percentage of its residents who had received at least one dose and 44th, ahead of Louisiana, North Dakota, Mississippi, Alabama, Wyoming, Idaho and West Virginia, in the percentage who had been fully vaccinated.
Nationally, 69.1% of people had received at least one dose and 59% were fully vaccinated.
Of the fully vaccinated population nationally, 17.1% had received a booster dose.