HOSPITALIZATIONS continue to increase in state.

Recent upward trend in virus still seen

“Today’s report of increased hospitalizations is particularly concerning.” — Gov. Asa Hutchinson

Another 17 Arkansans were hospitalized with covid-19 Sunday, continuing the recent upward trend, according to the Arkansas Department of Health’s daily update.

Hospitalizations were at 261 Sunday, rising from 206 a week ago and 187 the week prior.

“Today’s report of increased hospitalizations is particularly concerning,” Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in his daily social media post about the pandemic. “We know the vaccine can dramatically reduce your risk of being hospitalized due to covid-19, so take some time this week to go out and get the shot.”

According to the Health Department, the state had another 133 cases of the virus Sunday. Total active cases in Arkansas dropped by 25 from Saturday, to 2,464.

However, active case numbers have been steadily climbing and remain higher than they’ve been since

March 21 when the Health Department reported 2,578 active cases. Since March 2020, the state has seen 345,605 cases.

No new covid-19 deaths were reported, so the state’s death toll from the virus, as tracked by the Department of Health, remained at 5,874.

Pulaski County had the most new confirmed cases Sunday with 31, followed by Benton County with 13 and Saline County with 12. Four of the new cases were from correctional facilities, according to the Health Department.

Sunday, 4,322 doses of vaccine were given. This bumped up the number of individuals fully immunized in the state by 2,618, to 967,307.