Arkansas recorded 564 new cases of covid-19 Wednesday, a figure Gov. Asa Hutchinson said was significantly lower than Tuesday but “not where we want to be.”
The new cases pushed the total number of cases to date to 30,297 or about 1% of the state’s population.
Hospitalizations continued to climb, Arkansas Department of Health Secretary Nate Smith said, reaching 458, an increase of 13 since Tuesday. The number of patients on a ventilator increased by three to 94.
Four more people died of the virus, Smith said, bringing the toll to 335. An additional 679 people have recovered, for a total of 23,523 recoveries so far.
The number of active cases as of Wednesday was 6,439, Smith said. Of those, 130 are in nursing homes, 979 in correctional facilities and 5,330 are in the general population.
Smith said counties with the most new cases reported included Pulaski with 78, Sebastian with 52, Washington with 46 and Benton with 38.
The state received results for 5,146 people in the previous 24 hours, bringing the total for the month to 80,862, Smith said.
Smith said hearing that about 1% of the state’s population has tested positive may seem like a small number to some, but he compared the virus to a house fire because it can spread so rapidly.
He also said there is emerging evidence that about 90% of patients who have ever been hospitalized with covid-19 will have continuing health issues as a result of the virus even after the infection is gone. This emphasizes the importance of preventing as many infections as possible, he said.
“The fire is still burning,” Smith said. “We can’t let up until we put it out.”
EARLIER:
Gov. Asa Hutchinson and state health officials will provide an update on Arkansas' covid-19 response from Conway at 1:30 p.m.
The total number of coronavirus cases reported in Arkansas remained at 29,733 Wednesday morning, according to a state website. The death toll remained at 331.
Check back to watch the live video.
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