State records 244 new covid cases

Maria Guardado of Little Rock receives a dose of the Johnson & Johnson covid-19 vaccine Saturday, March 27, 2021 during the Arkansas Department of Health’s pop up vaccination clinic at Mosaic Church in Little Rock.(Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Staci Vandagriff)
Maria Guardado of Little Rock receives a dose of the Johnson & Johnson covid-19 vaccine Saturday, March 27, 2021 during the Arkansas Department of Health’s pop up vaccination clinic at Mosaic Church in Little Rock.(Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Staci Vandagriff)

Arkansas' count of coronavirus cases rose Wednesday by 244 - the first daily increase in three days that was bigger than one a week earlier.

After rising a day earlier, the number of people hospitalized in the state with covid-19 fell by two, to 150.

The state's death toll from the virus, as tracked by the Department of Health, rose by seven, to 5,660.

"With covid-19 cases increasing in other states, we are in a race to get everyone vaccinated," Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in a statement. "This is the key to victory. If you are over 16, let's get the dose.”

The number of the state's virus patients who were on ventilators fell by six, to 20, reaching a new low for the year.

Wednesday's increase in cases was larger than the one a day earlier and the previous Wednesday, March 31.

Over a rolling-seven day period, the average number of cases added to the state's tallies each day rose from 154 as of Tuesday to 158.

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