State’s case total rises by 547, with deaths up by 11

‘We cannot rest,’ Hutchinson says; ‘Wear a mask and social distance’

The Arkansas Department of Health reported 547 new covid-19 cases and 11 additional deaths Saturday as the total number of infections in the state exceeded 56,000.

The number of new cases was less than the single-day high of 887 cases reported Friday but was roughly in line with the rest of the week.

Arkansas has reported a cumulative total of 56,199 covid-19 cases since March, when the pandemic began in the state.

Active cases represent 5,761 of the cumulative total. On Saturday, that figure, which represents individuals who have neither recovered

nor died from the virus, was down 93 from the previous day.

According to the state Department of Health, 49,764 people have recovered from covid-19 to date.

On Friday, in addition to the jump in new cases, Arkansas health officials re

ported a single-day record of 22 for newly reported deaths related to covid-19 in the state.

As of Saturday, the death toll in Arkansas stood at 674.

“We have seen progress over the past few weeks, but we cannot rest yet. Wear a mask and social distance to slow the spread,” Gov. Asa Hutchinson wrote in a Twitter post Saturday.

Cases in correctional facilities contributed 56 to Saturday’s new case total, with the

Cases in correctional facilities contributed 56 to Saturday’s new case total, with the remainder in the community, according to the Department of Health.

remainder in the community, according to the Department of Health.

The number of hospitalizations and patients on ventilators both declined Saturday. The number of hospitalized patients decreased by 17 to 492, and those on ventilators declined by 12 to 108, the department reported.

Results from 6,202 tests Friday were reported to the Department of Health.

With regard to the 11 new deaths, Health Department spokeswoman Danyelle McNeill said three deaths were reported Saturday from Pulaski County, and one death each from Lawrence, Lincoln, Nevada, Yell, Sebastian, Hot Spring, Craighead and White counties.

Black residents in Arkansas continue to be disproportionately represented in the state’s death toll. As of Saturday, 25% of the state’s deaths have occurred among Black residents, according to the department’s data, even though they make up just 15% of the state’s population.

Likewise, members of the state’s Pacific Islander community, which includes Marshallese residents, have been hit hard by covid-19.

Though they make up less than 1% of the state’s population, Pacific Islanders represent 6% of the overall death toll, according to the Department of Health.

Hispanic residents represent 22% of the overall caseload in Arkansas but just 8% of the state population, according to U.S. census data.

The largest increases Saturday were in Craighead County with 54 new cases, Sebastian County with 44, Pulaski County with 41 and Pope County with 25. Benton and Jefferson counties each saw 20 new cases.

There are more active cases in Jonesboro’s Craighead County, with 240, than in Washington County, an early state hot spot, where the Department of Health has reported 209 cases remain active.

Pulaski County continues to lead the state in active cases, with 637 as of Saturday. There have been a total of 6,477 infections reported in the county, according to the Department of Health.

In Fort Smith’s Sebastian County, there are 366 active cases, more than in Benton and Washington counties.