Saturday marked another day of 200-plus new cases of covid-19 in Arkansas.
New cases had hovered around 200 and active cases below 2,000 per day until Thursday, when the Arkansas Department of Health reported a spike of 289 cases. Friday's 393 new cases was the largest one-day increase in almost three months.
Saturday saw 264 new cases. Before Thursday, new daily cases had not exceeded 250 since May 25.
Active cases are "people who are currently infectious and need to be in isolation," state Epidemiologist Jennifer Dillaha said. The state's daily active cases had not exceeded 2,000 since May 29 but totaled 2,112 Saturday.
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Dillaha said it is especially concerning because active cases had been declining enough to approach 1,500 per day. The statistic indicates covid-19's continuing potential to spread throughout the state but is also just "the tip of the iceberg" as far as how prevalent and infectious covid-19 still is in Arkansas.
"We know that not everyone who is infected with the virus will be identified as the case because so many people have no symptoms but could still spread it," she said. "And then we have people who have mild symptoms but do not seek medical care or get treatment."
The Health Department has recorded 343,873 positive covid cases in the state since March 2020.
Pulaski County had 49 new cases Saturday, the most in the state. Saline County had 21 new cases, and Stone County had 18.
The number of vaccinations given daily has remained below 8,000 since May 28, and 7,538 doses were given Saturday, the highest so far this month.
In his daily Twitter statement about the covid-19 data, Gov. Asa Hutchinson thanked "everyone who continues to encourage vaccines."
"Our vaccination numbers are up, but our active cases have increased," Hutchinson tweeted. "Let's keep going in the right direction as we enter summer."
The recent spike in cases likely comes from "a general decrease in masking and social distancing among people who are not vaccinated," Dillaha said, as well as the continued spread of more infectious variants of the coronavirus.
Cases have been declining nationwide and usually holding steady in Arkansas, but people should not take this to mean the pandemic is over, Dillaha said.
"Already this year, there have been more reported deaths for 2021 than there were in all of 2020 globally," Dillaha said. "That should give us pause that this pandemic is still raging in other countries, and it could potentially increase again in the U.S. and in Arkansas."
One person died of covid-19 Saturday in Arkansas, according to the Health Department. A total of 5,860 Arkansans have died of the illness.
Covid hospitalizations dropped below 200 for the first time in five days Saturday, with 197 people hospitalized, five fewer than Friday. Forty-two patients were on ventilators for the second day in a row.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story included an incorrect photo.