State reports 516 new covid-19 cases, no new deaths

The number of new covid-19 cases increased in the state by 516 Monday, bringing the total number of infections from the virus since the pandemic began to 936,927, according to data from the Arkansas Department of Health.

That figure marked a slight increase from the roughly 400 new cases reported Sunday but a decline from the 824 new cases the Health Department

recorded Saturday. Meanwhile, active cases declined to 11,710 Monday from Sunday’s count of 12,349.

Testing for covid-19 typically decreases over holidays, which could mean an uptick in cases later in the week. Social gatherings and increased travel over the Labor Day holiday also could bump up the number of new cases in coming days as experienced after other holiday periods.

Last year on Labor Day, 937 new cases and 13 new deaths were reported by the Health Department. At that time there were more than 1,000 people hospitalized with the disease and more than 300 patients on ventilators.

Benton, Washington, Pulaski, Faulkner and Craighead counties now have the highest numbers of active cases in the state, according to the Health Department.

No additional deaths were reported Monday with the death toll from the coronavirus remaining at 11,933 since the beginning of the pandemic.

Hospitalizations decreased by 13 Monday, bringing the total number of patients hospitalized in the state from the virus to 261.

Of those, 35 individuals are in intensive care units, a decrease from the 40 reported the previous day.

There were nine patients reported on ventilators Monday, an increase of three from the number of patients the Health Department reported on ventilators Sunday.

The number of individuals fully immunized increased by five Monday to 1,660,970, which is about 58% of the state’s population ages 5 and older. There had been 824,774 booster shots administered as of Monday afternoon, the Health Department reported.

More than 913,000 people in Arkansas have recovered from covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic in early 2020, according to Health Department data.