State tops 200,000 total covid cases as active cases set record

Breunna Lewis, a medical assistant for UAMS, administers a covid-19 test Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020 at the Lonoke Community Center. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Staci Vandagriff)
Breunna Lewis, a medical assistant for UAMS, administers a covid-19 test Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020 at the Lonoke Community Center. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Staci Vandagriff)

Arkansas' count of coronavirus cases since the pandemic hit the state in March passed the 200,000 mark Saturday as 2,693 new cases raised the total to 200,114.

The milestone was passed as the state reached its highest daily tally of active cases at 23,066. That's an increase of 674 cases from Friday's record high of 22,392, and it's the third consecutive record high for the active-case tally.

"What concerns me the most is that high numbers mean more people in the hospital and more deaths," state epidemiologist Jennifer Dillaha said.

The state's death toll from the virus rose by 52 to 3,191, according to Arkansas Department of Health data.

The number of patients hospitalized with the virus in the state fell by 12, to 1,061. Those patients included 177 patients who were on ventilators, down four from 181 the previous day.

Of the new cases that were added to the state's tally, 1,853 were confirmed through polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, tests, while 840 were considered "probable" because the cases involved faster, less-accurate antigen tests.

The state reported 11,971 PCR tests and 3,205 tests on Saturday — slightly lower than the 13,189 PCR tests and 2,750 tests reported the previous Saturday.

The increase in cases followed a record spike of 3,039 cases on Thursday.

Read Sunday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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