The number of Arkansans hospitalized with covid-19 continued to decrease Saturday, according to data published by the Arkansas Department of Health.
However, the data showed little overall change in the prevalence of the virus throughout the state over the past week, Gov. Asa Hutchinson noted in his daily Twitter statement about the numbers.
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"COVID is stubbornly hanging around," Hutchinson tweeted Saturday afternoon. "Our steep declines in cases have leveled off, so let's not slack off in our vaccine push."
Health Department communications director Meg Mirivel said it is "concerning" that the data appears to be plateauing, especially with the holiday season approaching.
"We would prefer to see a steeper downturn," Mirivel said in an email. "Our numbers are impacted by vaccination rates, our behavior, and the transmissibility of the delta variant. Last year, we saw increases after each holiday."
The state saw 455 new cases Saturday, nine fewer than Oct. 30 and 102 fewer than Friday. There have been 515,979 covid-19 cases in Arkansas since March 2020, according to Health Department data.
Benton County had the most new cases with 61, Pulaski County had 45 and Washington County had 30.
Covid-19 hospitalizations fell below 300 Friday for the first time since June and continued to decrease Saturday, totaling 280.
However, six more people were on ventilators Saturday than Friday, totaling 77, and two more people were admitted to intensive care units to reach 125 Saturday after a decrease of 10 Friday.
The number of vaccine doses administered Saturday also held steady from last week at 13,163, which was 295 fewer than Oct. 30 but 4,011 more than Friday.
At least 665 Arkansas children ages 5-11 had received their first Pfizer shots as of Thursday, according to the Health Department. Mirivel said the number of children in that age group who received shots Friday or later will not be available until Monday.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the vaccine for children ages 5-11 on Oct. 29, and Arkansas began distributing shots to this population Wednesday.
So far, 1,408,074 Arkansans 12 and older, or 55.1% of the population in that age group, are fully vaccinated against covid-19, according to Health Department data.
The state recorded 11 new deaths of the virus Saturday for a total of 8,483 since March 2020.
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