The spread of the coronavirus in Arkansas is continuing to accelerate, data released Monday indicated, with the state's count of cases growing by more than 2,000 over a three-day span and the number of people hospitalized with virus growing by 68.
The state's death toll from the virus, as tracked by the Department of Health, rose by seven, to 5,955, from Friday to Monday.
"Our hospitalizations increased by 68 over the weekend, but the covid-19 vaccines remain effective against the Delta Variant and keep people out of the hospital," Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in a tweet.
He planned to speak with residents at 6 p.m. today at the Batesville Community Center in the second of a series of meetings designed to encourage Arkansans to get vaccinated.
Monday was the first time the Health Department had released information on the state's cases, hospitalizations, deaths and other indicators since Friday, reflecting the department's decision last month to stop releasing numbers on Saturdays and Sundays.
The figures showed the state's count of cases rose by 760 on Saturday, 965 on Sunday and 288 on Monday for a total increase of 2,013.
By comparison, the state's count rose by 1,246 during the same three days a week earlier.
The average number of cases added to the state's tally each day over a rolling seven-day period rose to 807, its highest level since Feb. 15.
The number of people hospitalized in the state with covid-19 rose by 22 on Saturday, 21 on Sunday and 25 on Monday, bringing it to 565, the largest number since Feb. 22.
The number of virus patients who were on ventilators rose over the three days by 13, to 94, its highest level since Feb. 27.
One virus death was reported Saturday, and the other six were reported Monday.
No deaths from covid-19 were reported Sunday.
The number of cases that were considered active, meaning the person had tested positive and had not recovered or died, rose to 7,528 as of Sunday, its highest level since Feb. 17, before falling by 273 on Monday.
The figures showed an uptick in the state's vaccinations, with the almost 12,000 doses administered over the three days exceeding the previous week's number by about 2,900.
The average number of doses administered each day over a rolling seven-day period rose to 4,271, up from a low of 3,855 the week ending Friday but still well below the state's peak of more than 23,000 a day in early April.