JONESBORO, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Governor Asa Hutchinson announced 97 new cases of the novel coronavirus in Arkansas at his daily press conference on Wednesday, including 95 in the community and two from corrections.
There is one additional death due to the virus, he said, raising the state’s death toll to 120.
Hospitalizations are up by one to 108, and there are currently 22 patients on ventilators in Arkansas, an increase of four since Tuesday.
The 108 hospitalizations are one away from the state’s peak of 109 hospitalizations on April 27, and Gov. Hutchinson said he expects that number to rise.
“We’re right at the same level almost as the previous peak,” he said. “I expect that, quite frankly, to go up and down, but with the number of cases we’re having, it’s likely to go up a little bit.”
Hutchinson said the state conducted 4033 tests over the past 24 hours with a 1.9 percent positivity rate.
There are now 1733 active cases in Arkansas, including:
- 1199 in the community
- 466 in corrections
- 68 in nursing homes
Governor Hutchinson shared a chart Wednesday showing a 58 percent rate of increase in COVID-19 cases in Northwest Arkansas between May 17 and May 23, the highest rate of growth by “Public Health Region” in the state.
Dr. Nate Smith said there are 301 cases associated with the poultry industry in Arkansas, including 220 active cases.
The state now reports 6277 cumulative cases of COVID-19 and 4424 recoveries from the virus, an increase of 92 since Tuesday.
For more detailed data from the Arkansas Department of Health, click here.
For more information on the state’s response to the novel coronavirus, visit https://www.healthy.arkansas.gov/programs-services/topics/novel-coronavirus.
