LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas on Sunday reported 1,536 new cases of the coronavirus and 46 more deaths.
The Arkansas Department of Health said that the state has reported 201,650 cases since the pandemic began. The state’s death toll is at 3,237.
“The high number of Arkansans who have died is heartbreaking,” Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Sunday on Twitter.
Noting that Christmas is just five days away, he asked Arkansans to protect each other. “What we do will determine how we start our new year,” Hutchinson said.
Health officials said that 1,057 people with COVID-19 are in Arkansas hospitals.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University say that over the past two weeks, the rolling average number of daily new cases in Arkansas has increased by 215.1, an increase of 10.5%. One in every 190 people in Arkansas tested positive in the past week.
The true number of infections in Arkansas is likely higher because many haven’t been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected and not feel sick.
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 symptoms and be fatal.
