COVID-19 hospitalizations set a new high for four consecutive days

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by Talk Business & Politics staff ([email protected]) October 9, 2020 5:39 pm 345 views 

It’s been a tough start to October in Arkansas on the COVID-19 front. The number of known cumulative cases rose almost 7% and the number of confirmed deaths rose almost 12% in the first nine days of the month.

The Arkansas Department of Health reported Friday (Oct. 9) 1,167 confirmed and probable cases, pushing the cumulative tally to 91,312. Hospitalizations rose to 560, marking the fourth day in a row the number set a new record. The number of confirmed and probable deaths was up 27 to 1,530.

Confirmed cumulative cases were 86,960 on Friday, up 6.65% compared with 81,531 on Oct. 1. Confirmed deaths were 1,385 on Friday, up 11.9% compared with the 1,238 on Oct. 1.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson encouraged Arkansans to follow health guidelines over the weekend.

“Yesterday was another record day of testing with almost 14,000 total tests performed. Our new cases continue to be too high. As we all go about our weekend, let’s make sure to wear a mask and keep our distance. We are constantly reminded of how serious this virus is and how easily it can spread,” Gov. Hutchinson noted in a statement.

COVID REPORT – Oct. 9
New known COVID-19 cases, active cases, tests
• 86,960 known cumulative cases, with 899 new community cases and 81 cases in correctional facilities
• 4,352 “probable” cases, up from 4,165 on Thursday
• There are 6,554 active cases, up from 6,207 on Thursday
• There were 12,716 test results provided in the previous 24 hours.
• There were 1,25 antigen tests in the previous 24 hours with 192 positives.

Deaths
• 1,385, up 26
• 145 “probable” COVID-related deaths, up 1

Hospitalizations
560, up 13

Ventilators
101, down 2

Recovered cases
79,012

The top five counties with new known cases reported Friday were: Pulaski (77), Washington (76), Craighead (74), Sebastian (49), and Benton (47). The counties accounted for 36% of the 899 new community cases.

As of Friday at 1 p.m., there were 7,630,774 U.S. cases and 213,131 deaths. Globally, there were 36,685,866 cases and 1,064,129 deaths.