State reports 8,171 increase in covid-19 ill

Active cases at 57,382 high; hospitalizations rise by 37

After four consecutive days of record-setting new covid-19 cases, Arkansas recorded 8,171 new cases Saturday, 263 fewer than Friday’s latest record but still 384 more than Thursday’s total, according to data collected by the state Department of Health.

Active, or currently infectious, cases continued to climb Saturday, adding 6,672 and reaching a record of 57,382 after Friday’s total was the first to exceed 50,000 since the pandemic began.

“As we approach 60,000 active cases across Arkansas, we continue to see hospitalizations on the rise,” Gov. Asa Hutchinson tweeted Saturday. “Action is being taken to ensure we have adequate bed space for both COVID and non-COVID patients in the weeks ahead.”

Hospitalizations reached 970 Saturday, 37 more than Friday, for the 14th day in which the total increased or held steady. The number of covid-19 patients on ventilators dropped by four to 131, and the number of them in intensive care remained at 279, according to Health Department data.

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences hospital had 47 covid-19 patients Saturday, down from 49 Friday and 52 Thursday, UAMS spokeswoman Leslie Taylor said in an email.

Sixteen of the 47 patients are vaccinated. Eight are in intensive care, and seven are on ventilators, Taylor said.

The UAMS Medical Center has 12 Arkansas National Guard soldiers working at its drive-thru testing clinic in Little Rock, which tested 820 people Friday and 780 Saturday, she said.

“Within the first 17 minutes after opening at 7:30 [Saturday] morning, we had more than 100 people registered for tests,” Taylor said in an email.

Pulaski County recorded 1,482 new cases Saturday, the state’s highest number in a single county and the seventh time since the start of the pandemic that the county

has seen more than 1,000 cases in a day.

Benton County had 636 new cases Saturday, and Washington County had 606.

Arkansas has seen a total of 613,014 covid-19 cases since March 2020, according to health department data, and 9,314 Arkansans have died of covid-19, including 16 recorded Saturday.

The first 450,000 of the 1.5 million rapid home tests purchased by the state last week were expected to arrive late Saturday after being delayed a day, Health Department communications director Meg Mirivel said in an email.

The department, with the help of the National Guard, plans to begin distributing the tests around the state Monday. Test availability will be based on population, Mirivel said.

The Health Department reported that for the second day in a row more than 10,000 covid-19 vaccines were administered throughout Arkansas. Saturday saw 10,808 doses given. Before Friday, single-day vaccinations had not been above 10,000 since Dec. 23.

As of Saturday, 458,205 Arkansans had received third doses, 18,917 more than a week earlier.

“It’s hard to say why people are choosing now to get vaccinated, but we are glad to see higher numbers of vaccinations recently,” Mirivel said. “Getting vaccinated and boosted is very important to protect yourself and your community.”