Active cases of virus in state rise 6 days in a row

Arkansas saw 137 new cases of covid-19 on Sunday, outpacing the number of Arkansans who have recovered from the coronavirus, according to the state Department of Health.

The number of active cases increased by 19 to 2,055. The Health Department has not reported that many active cases since March 26.

Active cases hit a 12-day low of 1,805 on April 26, and have risen each day since. The last time Arkansas reported six consecutive days of increasing active cases was Jan. 3, with 24,238 cases. The tally of active cases on Dec. 27 was 20,831.

Two more people have died, raising the virus’ death toll in Arkansas since March 2020 to 5,743.

Coronavirus hospitalizations rose by three, to 171. Since the pandemic reached the state last year, 15,866 Arkansans have been hospitalized with the disease. Three fewer coronavirus patients were on ventilators, lowering the number to 26.

Pulaski County had the highest number of new cases with 23, followed by Benton County with 16. Hot Spring, Saline, and Washington counties all had seven cases each.

“The new cases remind us of the need for everyone to get vaccinated,” Gov. Asa Hutchinson said via social media Sunday. “Our communities are working hard to make it easily available to all, so let’s make the effort to get it done.”

Health workers administered another 5,638 doses of vaccine. The state also received 1,000 more doses Sunday, according to the Health Department.

Another 4,006 Arkansans are now considered fully immunized, for a total of 757,314. Another 275,942 have been partially immunized but are still waiting on their second dose as of Sunday.