LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – The record-high number of active coronavirus cases in Arkansas is likely a signal that hospitalizations will increase in coming days, a state health official says.
The Arkansas Department of Health on Saturday reported 27,822 active COVID-19 cases.
“That would be the number of people who are infectious at this point in time. That’s at a record-high level, and you know the cases precede the hospitalizations in terms of numbers,” state Epidemiologist Dr. Jennifer Dillaha told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Health officials on Saturday reported 1,346 hospitalizations in Arkansas, another new record, as well as 2,886 new cases and 44 more deaths. The state’s death toll is now at 4,010.
The numbers for Sunday have not yet been released.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University say there were 1,253.5 new cases per 100,000 people in Arkansas over the past two weeks, which ranks sixth in the country for new cases per capita. One in every 148 people in Arkansas tested positive in the past week.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up within weeks. But for others, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, the virus can cause severe illness and be fatal.
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