Arkansas' count of coronavirus cases rose Friday by 1,155 — the third consecutive daily increase in quadruple digits.
Already at its highest level since Feb. 26, the number of people hospitalized in the state with covid-19 rose by 16, to 497.
The state's death toll from the virus, as tracked by the Arkansas Department of Health, rose by four, to 5,948.
In a tweet, Gov. Asa Hutchinson mentioned his meeting a day earlier with residents in Cabot, the first of a series of such discussions he plans to hold around the state to encourage people to get vaccinated.
"During our first Community COVID Conversation last night, my team and I were able to get feedback about what is needed to help vaccinate more Arkansans and how we can continue to fight misinformation," Hutchinson said. "Our vaccine numbers are increasing slightly, and I hope you'll do your part."
Friday's increase in cases followed jumps of 1,000 on Wednesday and 1,210 on Thursday.
Before Wednesday, the last time the state had 1,000 or more new cases in a single day was Feb. 11. That was also the last time the state had reported three consecutive days of more than 1,000 new cases.
With new cases outpacing recoveries, the number of cases that were considered active rose Friday by 673, to 6,605, its highest level since Feb. 18.
Friday also marked the first day since February in which the number of Arkansans who currently have the coronavirus was greater than the number of people who have died from it. On Feb. 21, the Health Department reported 5,357 deaths and 5,670 active cases; active cases fell below 5,000 the next day.
However, the number of virus patients who were on ventilators fell by one on Friday, to 81, ater reaching its highest level since early March a day earlier.
The number of Arkansans who were in intensive care remained for a second day at 196. It was the highest level for that statistic since Feb. 25.
Meanwhile, the increase in the number of vaccine doses that providers reported having administered, including second doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, was 5,170 on Friday, smaller by almost 100 than the one a week earlier.
Already at its lowest level since at least January, the average number of doses administered each day over a rolling seven-day period fell to 3,855.
More details in Saturday's Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.