Already at their lowest levels in more than three months, the numbers of covid-19 patients in Arkansas who were hospitalized, on ventilators or in intensive care continued falling on Thursday.
The state's count of cases rose by 506, the 10th consecutive daily increase that was smaller than the one a week earlier.
Arkansas' death toll from the virus, as tracked by the Arkansas Department of Health, rose by seven, to 8,237.
"The seven-day rolling average of positive COVID-19 tests has decreased down to 7.1% as of today," Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in a tweet. "This continues a trend that started in August when it peaked at around 16%. This shows our progress towards fighting the spread of the virus as more Arkansans get vaccinated."
At its lowest level since July 7, the number of covid-19 patients in the state's hospitals fell by 13, to 438.
The number who were on ventilators, at its lowest level since July 18, fell by two, to 121.
The number who were in intensive care fell by 19, to 180, its lowest level since July 7.
The number of intensive care unit beds that were unoccupied rose by 27, to 197.
People with covid-19 made up about 18% of all the state's patients in intensive care, down from about 19% a day earlier.
The increase in cases on Thursday was smaller by 275 than the one a week earlier. As a result, the average daily increase over a rolling seven-day period fell to 520, its lowest level since the week ending July 6.
With recoveries and deaths outpacing new cases, the number of cases in the state that were considered active fell by 120, to 5,661, the smallest number since July 7.
Meanwhile, the increase in vaccine doses that providers reported having administered during the 24-hour period was 7,203, larger by 834 than the one the previous Thursday.
After falling a day earlier, the average number of doses administered each day over a rolling seven-day period rose to 5,772. That was still down slightly from the average of 5,795 a day the previous week, however.
Of the doses most recently reported, almost 40% were third doses, including booster shots of the Pfizer vaccine for people who received their second dose at least six months ago.
First doses, including the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, made up about 29% of the increase. The rest were second doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
More details in Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.