Already at its lowest level in more than a month, the number of people hospitalized with covid-19 in Arkansas fell Friday for the third consecutive day.
The state's count of cases, however, rose by 2,159, the second consecutive daily increase that was slightly larger than the one a week earlier.
Arkansas' death toll from the virus, as tracked by the state's Department of Health, rose by 30, to 7,199.
The number of covid-19 patients in the state's hospitals, which reached an all-time high of 1,459 on Aug. 16, fell Friday by 45, to 1,149.
The number who were on ventilators, however, rose by one, to 316, after dropping slightly the previous two days.
After rising a day earlier, the number of covid-19 patients who were in intensive care fell by 32, to 476, its lowest level since Aug. 7.
The number of intensive care beds statewide that were unoccupied rose Friday by eight, to 34.
People with covid-19 made up 43% of the patients in intensive care statewide, down from 45% a day earlier.
Since Aug. 23, the number people hospitalized in the state with covid-19 has been below the peak of 1,371 it reached in January during the state's winter surge.
While down from the record levels they reached last month, the numbers of patients on ventilators and in intensive care on Friday remained above their January highs, which were 268 patients on ventilators and 458 in intensive care.
The increase in cases on Friday was larger by 30 than the one the previous Friday. As a result, the average daily increase in the state's case count over a rolling seven-day period rose by about four, to 1,682. That was still down from an average of 1,990 a week earlier, however.
The rolling seven-day average has trended mostly downward since it reached 2,351 the week ending Aug. 7.
With new cases outpacing recoveries and deaths, the number of cases that were considered active rose Friday by 28, to 19,742 — a reduction of more than 3,200 cases from the previous Friday, when the state reported 22,993 active cases.
Meanwhile, the number of reported vaccinations dropped, one day after rebounding from a slowdown around Labor Day weekend.
The increase in vaccine doses providers reported having administered, including second and third doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, was 8,189, a reduction of more than 3,500 doses from the same day a week earlier.
The average number of doses administered over a rolling seven-day period fell to 7,297, its lowest level since the week ending July 21.
More details in Saturday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.