The number of people hospitalized in Arkansas with covid-19 fell Friday for the 11th consecutive day, while the number of virus patients who were on ventilators dropped below 200 for the first time in more than two months.
With recoveries and deaths outpacing new cases, the number of covid-19 cases in the state that were considered active fell by 397, to 9,988. It was the 20th consecutive day the number had decreased, and the first time it was below 10,000 since July 16.
The state's count of cases rose by 857, the fourth daily increase in a row that was smaller than the one a week earlier.
The state's death toll from the virus since March 2020, as tracked by the Arkansas Department of Health, rose by 27, to 7,718.
"Our vaccine doses administered today have almost doubled from last week," Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in a tweet. "This is largely due to the availability of booster doses across the state. I’m hopeful the administration of booster doses will continue as well as more first and second doses to help us end this pandemic."
The number of hospitalized covid-19 patients fell by 24, to 703, its lowest level since July 17.
The number of those patients on ventilators fell for the fourth day in a row, dropping from 211 on Thursday to 190, the lowest number since July 26.
The number of covid-19 patients who were in intensive care fell by 22, to 321, the lowest number since July 20. The number of intensive care beds that were unoccupied statewide rose by one, to 88.
People with covid-19 made up about 29% of the state's intensive care patients on Friday, down from 31% a day earlier.
The increase in the state's case count was lower by more than 500 than the one the previous Friday. As a result, the average daily increase in the count over a rolling seven-day period, already at its lowest level since the week ending July 12, fell to 816.
More details in Saturday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.