State COVID-19 cases cointinue, but at much slower rate

County adds to death total, pandemic restrictions loosening across state

ralphhardin@gmail.com Arkansas on Sunday reported 100 new coronavirus cases and the local COVID-19 death toll ticked one more fatality closer to triple digits as the state's prison system expanded its pandemic rollbacks.

The Department of Health said the state's virus cases since the pandemic began now totals 331,882. The state's active cases, meaning those that don't include people who have died or recovered, rose by 25 to 1,732.

The state's official COVID19 death totals dropped by one after one was reclassified as not related to the virus and no additional deaths were reported.

Arkansas' COVID-19 deaths now total 5,661. The state's COVID-19 hospitalizations increased by 19 to 160.

Coronavirus rollbacks included the return to inperson visitation to six state prison facilities.

The Department of Corrections announced it was expanding its modified in-person visitation program to the McPherson Unit, North Central Unit, Central Arkansas Community Correction Center, East Central Arkansas Community Correction Center, Omega Supervision Sanction Center and Southwest Arkansas Community Correction Center.

The department began its in-person visitation pilot program in December at four facilities. Under the program, visits will be made by pre-approved individuals only.

The Health Department also said nearly 33,000 additional doses of the coronavirus vaccine had been administered around the state. More than 1.3 million doses of the 2 million allocated to the state have been given so far.

While local COVID-19 numbers have dropped significantly since January highs, there was a coronavirus fatality reported, bring Crittenden County’s overall COVID-19 death total to 96. The death, reported last week, was the first coronavirus-related death in the county since two death the week of March 22.