The Arkansas Department of Health announced that COVID-19 cases in Arkansas increased by 2,890 on Wednesday.
The state also announced 35 new deaths on Wednesday, bringing the total number of deaths in the state as a result of the pandemic to 6,969.
Hospitalizations were up by 101, bringing the total number of patients hospitalized in the state to 1,313. Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson posted on Twitter that at least some of the large rise in hospitalizations reported Wednesday were due to a data correction.
There are currently 357 patients in the state on ventilators, down 31 from the day previous.
There are currently 22,814 cases of COVID-19 considered active in the state, which includes those that have tested positive by both PCR and antigen testing methods. The ADH dashboard currently lists 1,977 active cases in Washington County and 1,595 in Benton County.
There were 10,541 PCR tests and 2,910 antigen tests announced Wednesday.
The new cases bring the total cumulative count in Arkansas to 455,781 since the pandemic began.
The top counties for new cases on Wednesday were Washington (366), Benton (200), and Pulaski (194).
Fayetteville Public Schools are reporting COVID-19 cases in their district as well. The school dashboard on Wednesday showed 10 new positive cases, for a total of 67 positive cases currently active in the district. There are 222 students currently in quarantine, and 47 of those are quarantining due to probable close contact at school. The district announced one new positive case among staff, for a total of 12 active positive staff cases. Eighteen staff members are currently in quarantine or isolation, according to the district's dashboard.
Arkansas is averaging 2,076 new cases per day, or 69 per 100,000 residents over the last two weeks. The state is currently ranked 39th among states in the per 100,000 category over that time, according to the New York Times COVID-19 tracker. Cases in the state are actually down by 1% over the last 14 days.
The state announced that 12,429 additional doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, bringing the total number of doses given by the state to 2,709,147. The state lists 336,181 as partially immunized, and 1,226,006 individuals as fully immunized. The FDA recently announced it had given full approval for the Pfizer vaccine for anyone 16 and older. The vaccine also continues to be available under emergency use authorization (EUA), including for individuals 12 through 15 years of age and for the administration of a third dose in certain immunocompromised individuals, officials announced.
All Arkansans ages 12 and older are currently eligible for a vaccine. Those who need assistance locating a vaccine can call 1-800-985-6030.
