LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Arkansas on Tuesday reported 26 more deaths from the coronavirus as the state’s hospitalizations from the virus continued to drop.
The Arkansas Department of Health said the state’s COVID-19 deaths now total 5,174, while its hospitalizations dropped by 40 to 735. The state’s coronavirus cases rose by 1,092 to 309,940.
Over the past two weeks, the rolling average number of daily new cases in Arkansas has decreased by 392.7, a decrease of 20.2%, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson said he took heart from the positive trends but warned that they were no excuse for easing the fight against COVID-19.
“Compared to last week, there are over 1,300 fewer new cases and over 2,300 fewer active cases,” he said. “Our mitigation efforts are working, but we cannot use this as an excuse to relax. This virus can spread rapidly, and we all must work together to defeat it.”
The state in December began providing the vaccine to health care workers, first responders, law enforcement and nursing home residents and staff. Last month, it expanded to teachers and people at least 70 years old.
The health department said 425,873 of the 651,275 doses of the vaccine Arkansas has received have been given.
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