Arkansas has detected 97 new cases of covid-19, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Wednesday, and one additional person has died of the virus, raising the toll to 120.
Department of Health Secretary Dr. Nate Smith said hospitalizations also increased to 108, just one below the highest daily number for the state in the course of the outbreak so far: 109 hospitalizations on April 27.
Hutchinson said he expects the number of hospitalized to continue to increase “a little bit,” given the high number of new cases in recent days.
He and Smith have repeatedly pointed to hospitalization as a good indicator of the severity of the state’s outbreak.
The case total rose to 6,277, including 1,733 active cases in which a person remains ill, Smith said. So far, 4,424 people have recovered.
Of the active cases, 68 are in nursing homes, 466 are in correctional facilities and 1,199 are in the general population.
The poultry industry continues to be a source of new cases, Smith said, with 301 cases known among workers so far. Of those, Smith said 220 are active.
The state conducted 4,033 tests Tuesday, Hutchinson said, the second-highest number conducted in a single day.
The state has already passed its goal of testing 60,000 people in May, with a total so far for the month of 66,299. Since the outbreak in Arkansas began, Smith said, 117,076 tests have been conducted.
EARLIER: Gov. Asa Hutchinson and state health officials will provide an update on Arkansas' covid-19 response from Jonesboro at 1:30 p.m.
At 6,180, the total number of covid-19 cases remained unchanged Wednesday morning from those reported by the state Health Department on Tuesday evening. The number of reported deaths also remained unchanged, at 119.
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