Arkansas tops 3,000 deaths from the virus

Arkansas – Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced that Arkansas has now topped 3,000 deaths from COVID-19 as an additional 2,141 cases and 26 deaths were added on Tuesday.

Speaking during a news conference Tuesday, Hutchinson said the state has now seen 189,198 total cases of the virus since the beginning of the pandemic.

Of the 2,141 news cases, 905 cases were probable confirmations from PCR tests, a new record that Hutchinson said shows the public’s faith in the quick-return tests.

In total, 3,016 state residents have died from the virus since the beginning of the pandemic.

Arkansas also saw increases of 20 coronavirus patients requiring hospitalization and 10 requiring ventilators.

Hospitals around the state are seeing their first doses of a vaccine from Pfizer, much of which is being used on frontline health care workers.

State Health Secretary Dr. Jose Romero again asked residents of Arkansas to rethink holiday plans for travel and large family gatherings, as the activities can increase the chance of community spread.

Hutchinson also announced the launch of a centralized state COVIDComm system to help manage coronavirus patient flow and resource management for hospitals fighting the pandemic.