Gov. Asa Hutchinson spoke from Mountain Home during his COVID-19 briefing. Mountain Home is in Baxter County which has seen fewer active cases. Hutchinson said there might be something to learn from them.
The number of COVID-19 infections in the state has grown by 595 since yesterday, bringing the total to 16,678. Of that number, 5,221 are considered active with 103 in nursing homes, 779 in correctional facilities and 4,339 in the community. One of the correctional facilities hardest hit is next door in Hot Springs County near Malvern, which has brought that county's total cases to 138, with more than 100 of those considered active.
Since yesterday, there have been 10 more deaths due to COVID-19 have been recorded. That brings the total number of deaths to 237 in the state. The number of hospitalizations has risen by 11, bringing the total to 248. Of that 248, 57 are on ventilators.
Hutchinson said that the Fourth of July holiday could increase the number of cases sharply and cautioned people against attending events that are bigger than individual gatherings. Arkansas Health Secretary Nate Smith said that Arkansas will probably see a similar spike in cases to that which occurred following Memorial Day Weekend. Smith said that the holiday led to a transmission chain that started with healthy young people and ended with people in vulnerable groups dying.
Other items discussed were continued testing and projections of the infection numbers, which may go up due to Arkansas already having more cases than previously projected for this time.