Arkansas' death toll from the coronavirus topped 7,000 on Thursday as the numbers of covid-19 patients in the state's hospitals and on ventilators both fell.
The death toll, as tracked by the Arkansas Department of Health, rose by 34, to 7,003.
"Today we have reached another grave milestone," Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in a tweet. "COVID-19 has taken the lives of over 7,000 Arkansans. My heart goes out to every family & friend who has lost a loved one to this virus, and it’s a somber reminder that we must all fight this virus together to save lives."
The state's count of cases rose by 2,453, the third consecutive daily increase that was larger than the one a week earlier.
After rising Wednesday, the number of people hospitalized in the state with covid-19 fell by 23, to 1,290.
The number of Arkansas covid-19 patients who were on ventilators, which set records Monday and Tuesday, fell Thursday for the second consecutive day, dropping from 357 as of Wednesday to 355.
The number of covid-19 patients who were in intensive care, however, rose by 12, to 534, after falling the previous two days.
With more patients in the ICU, the number of unoccupied ICU beds statewide fell by nine, to 19.
Covid-19 patients made up about 48% of the patients in intensive care as of Thursday, up from 47% a day earlier.
Arkansas' deaths from covid-19 passed the 7,000 mark 45 days after topping 6,000 in July.
The state’s first virus deaths were reported on March 24, 2020, less than two weeks after the first patient in the state tested positive. The state took almost six months to top 1,000 deaths after the pandemic reached Arkansas, and it took almost six months for deaths to rise from 5,000 to 6,000 this year.
More details in Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.