Arkansas recorded more than 1,000 new covid-19 cases for the fourth consecutive day Friday, according to data from the state Department of Health.
Friday's 1,224 new cases were 213 fewer than Thursday's increase of 1,437, the largest one-day increase since February, but Friday's new case total was 162 more than the Friday before.
Also Friday, the number of coronavirus-related hospitalizations in the state reached its highest point since early March.
While new cases and hospital admissions have been trending upward, public health officials have reiterated that the current jump in infections has not caused the same level of widespread, severe illness as past surges, such as those caused by the delta and omicron variants.
"We aren't seeing the kind of spike in hospitalizations that we've seen in the past, so [hospitals] aren't experiencing the kind of strain they have previously," Health Department spokeswoman Danyelle McNeill said Friday.
The state has now seen 866,816 cases of the virus since March 2020.
The number of new cases added to the state's case total over a rolling, seven-day period reached its highest level, roughly 1,028, since Feb. 21 on Friday.
The number of active cases, or those considered still infectious, on Friday reached 11,903, the highest number since Feb. 19 at the tail end of the omicron surge. Friday's increase of 505 active cases was 229 fewer than Thursday's, according to Health Department data.
Arkansas added 2,308 active cases in a week, the largest net change since the decrease of 2,338 in the seven days leading up to March 7.
The omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 have been spreading throughout the state and "is driving some of the increase in cases we're seeing," McNeill said in an email.
Four new deaths attributed the virus were recorded Friday, bringing the total to 11,585. All four deaths occurred in February, McNeill said.
The number of Arkansans hospitalized with covid-19 also continued to rise, with three patients admitted Friday and 54 admitted in the past week. There are 245 covid-19 patients in hospitals statewide, the highest number since March 12.
Intensive care units saw 50 covid-19 patients Friday, the largest number since March 23 and three more than Thursday.
No new patients were put on ventilators, leaving the total at 12 for the third day in a row, according to Health Department data.
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences had 15 covid-19 patients Friday, and eight of them were fully vaccinated, spokeswoman Leslie Taylor said.
One patient was in intensive care and one was on a ventilator.
Additionally, 140 of UAMS' 11,000 employees could not come to work Friday because they tested positive for the virus or were exposed to it, Taylor said.
UAMS requires everyone in its clinics and hospitals to wear masks.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended wearing masks indoors in 14 Arkansas counties as of Thursday: Cleburne, Desha, Jackson, Jefferson, Sebastian, Arkansas, Crawford, Baxter, Bradley, Clark, Hot Spring, Marion, Monroe and White.
About 1,200 covid-19 vaccines were administered throughout the state Friday; 1,621,808 Arkansans 5 and older are fully vaccinated against covid-19, according to Health Department data.