Arkansas COVID-19 cases increased by 1,020 over the last seven days, according to the Arkansas Department of Health website update on Tuesday. This is down from the 4,362 cases reported over the previous seven day period.
The state moved to a weekly report a few weeks ago instead of daily reports due in part to the rapid decline of cases recently. The last week's count averages to about 146 new cases per day in the state, down from 623 last week.
Last week's date included a backlog of cases that had been added to the tally from previous months, state epidemiologist Mike Cima told the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, which made last week's numbers appear a bit higher.
Active cases have remained low. There are 1,238 cases of COVID-19 considered active in the state, which includes those that have tested positive by both PCR and antigen testing methods. That number is down from the 1,499 active cases reported last Tuesday.
In Northwest Arkansas, the ADH dashboard currently lists 84 active cases in Washington County and 90 in Benton County.
Hospitalizations fell by 17 over that same period, bringing the total number of patients hospitalized in the state to 122.
State officials also announced 84 new deaths in the past week, bringing the total number of Arkansans who have died as a result of the pandemic to 11,211.
There are currently 26 patients on ventilators statewide, down 10 over the last week.
There were 14,406 tests and 6,683 antigen tests announced Tuesday.
The new cases bring the total cumulative count in Arkansas to 832,718.
The top counties for new cases over the last seven days were Pulaski (120), Craighead (111), and Crittenden (107).
Arkansas is averaging just 5 cases per 100,000 residents over the last two weeks. According to the New York Times COVID-19 tracker, cases in the state are down by 70 percent over the last 14 days.
The state announced that 6,405 additional doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, bringing the total number of doses given by the state to 3,983,510. The state lists 371,783 people as partially immunized, and 1,577,424 individuals as fully immunized.
All Arkansans ages 5 and older are currently eligible for a vaccine. Those who need assistance locating a vaccine can call 1-800-985-6030.
