Governor: No masks, no football this year

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Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson was joined by members of his cabinet to update citizens on the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic on Tuesday. Click below to listen to the entire address:

Arkansas reports 420 new coronavirus cases, 7 more deaths

LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas health officials on Wednesday said the state has 420 new confirmed coronavirus cases and seven more people died from the illness caused by the virus.

The Health Department said at least 21,197 people have tested positive for the virus, an increase from the 20,777 reported Tuesday. The number of active cases, meaning those excluding people who have died or recovered, decreased by 219 to 5,757.

The true number of cases in Arkansas is likely higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected and not feel sick.

The number of people who died from COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, increased to 277. The number of people hospitalized decreased by 15 to 275.

Though active cases and hospitalizations went down, they remain dramatically higher than when the state began allowing businesses that had closed because of the pandemic to reopen. Active cases have increased 246% since Memorial Day, while hospitalizations have increased 177% during the same time.