LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – New data released Friday showed active cases of COVID-19 in Arkansas have passed 7,000 for the first time since early October while hospitalizations also ticked up slightly.
The Arkansas Department of Health reported there were 7,141 active cases of the virus, up 556 from the previous day. The last time Arkansas had recorded more than 7,000 active cases was Oct. 9 when there were 7,596 cases.
The ADH data also showed new cases went up by 1,174, pushing up the total number of COVID-19 cases in Arkansas during the pandemic to 532,168.
Currently, 433 patients are hospitalized from the virus, one more since Thursday. There were 171 Arkansans in the state’s intensive care units, a decrease of five from the previous count, and 80 people on ventilators, two more than the previous day.
The Friday data also showed that the number of deaths increased by six to 8,699 since the pandemic began.
In the last 24 hours, 13,948 new COVID-19 vaccine doses were given to Arkansans.
“We have almost 14,000 vaccine doses given yesterday,” Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in a Tweet. “Of these, 30% (over 4,000) are first doses and 50% are booster doses. Thanks to all who act on this need because it helps us all.”
The number of fully immunized Arkansans went up to 1,451,577, while the number of state residents partially vaccinated is now 329,946.