New covid-19 cases in Arkansas topped 4,000 on Saturday for the fourth time since the pandemic began, and for the second time in three days, according to data from the Arkansas Department of Health.
The state's official death toll from the disease rose by 32 on Saturday, to 9,180. It was the largest one-day jump in covid-19 deaths since September.
Arkansas added 4,155 new coronavirus cases, just two days after setting the all-time daily record of 4,978. Of Arkansas' six largest one-day jumps in new coronavirus cases since the pandemic reached the state in March 2020, four have happened in the past four days.
Active cases of the disease rose Saturday to 25,155, their highest level since August and the 14th largest number since the pandemic began. Covid-19 hospitalizations rose by 20, to 645, more than double the 312 covid hospitalizations reported on Thanksgiving.
Pulaski County recorded 1,107 new cases, more than a quarter of the 4,155 in the state. Saturday marked the second time since the pandemic began, the first being Thursday, that Pulaski County recorded more than 1,000 new cases in one day.
After Pulaski County, Craighead County had the second-most new cases Saturday with 310, and Washington County had 261.
Arkansas has now recorded 570,641 cases, according to Health Department data, as the highly contagious omicron variant continues to spread. Of those, 536,111 cases are considered recovered.
More details in Sunday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.