The covid-19 death toll reported by the Arkansas Department of Health rose by 31 on Saturday, to 9,793.
The 177 covid deaths reported since Sunday means that over the past week, one Arkansan has died from the disease, on average, every 57 minutes. It's the fastest rate since September.
Meanwhile, the number of Arkansans hospitalized with covid-19 fell for the fifth consecutive day on Saturday, according to Health Department data. Arkansas reported 43 fewer hospitalizations on Saturday, lowering the total to 1,512.
The number of Arkansas covid-19 hospitalizations has fallen by 307 since its all-time high on Jan. 26.
Active cases also fell, as recoveries and deaths outpaced new cases. Arkansas reported 41,068 active cases of the disease on Saturday, down more than 3,400 from Friday. The Health Department reported 1,631 new covid cases on Saturday.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson noted the drops in active cases and hospitalizations in his daily Twitter statement about the Health Department data.
“We need to continue to increase vaccinations to prevent serious illness and hospitalizations,” Hutchinson tweeted.
Saturday saw the distribution of 1,688 shots, just over half as many as the 3,368 administered on Friday.
More details in Sunday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.