Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Tuesday he is limiting his activities after a person who was in a meeting with him last week tested positive for the coronavirus. The announcement came the same day the cumulative number of covid-19 cases in the state passed the 100,000 threshold.
During his weekly coronavirus update, Hutchinson called the figure a regrettable milestone.
Hutchinson said the person who tested positive had been in a meeting with him on Friday. The governor said he had practiced social distancing during the meeting and had undergone PCR and antigen testing. Both came back negative.
He said he intends to undergo further testing throughout the week.
The announcement comes as lawmakers shut down the Legislature’s budget hearings of state agencies for the rest of this week after three lawmakers tested positive for covid-19.
The governor held the Tuesday meeting remotely, with no media present, though he took questions from reporters after his report.
Over the past 24 hours, the state saw 628 new cases of covid-19 confirmed via polymerase chain reaction tests, or PCR, tests and 216 probable cases via antigen testing, for a total of 840, according to the state Department of Health.
There were 24 new hospitalizations, for a total of 637. Dr. Jose Romero, Arkansas Secretary of Health, said 101 of those patients were on ventilators.
Romero said the rise in hospitalizations indicates Arkansans are not consistently adhering to masking requirements and he urged residents to use masks properly, maintain social distancing, and wash their hands.
There were 14 additional deaths, bringing the state’s total to 1,576. Romero said most of the state’s deaths as a result of the virus have been in its elderly population.
Total active cases were 8,422 with 7,159 of those based on PCR tests and 1,263 of those based on antigen tests.
Romero said seven counties saw increases of at least 20 cases, with Pulaski County having the greatest number at 62, followed by Washington County with 39, Benton County with 38, Craighead County with 32, Crittenden County with 25, Crawford County with 21 and Greene County with 20.
For the month the total number of PCR tests administered stood at 187,970, while the total for antigen tests for the period was 24,638.
