May 29, 2020 2:14 p.m. — In today's COVID-19 briefing, Gov. Asa Hutchinson reported the state has 6,777 positive cases, an increase of 239 from yesterday. Two of the new cases come from correctional facilities. The counties with the most new cases are Washington County with 53 cases and Benton County with 38 cases. The governor said 2,702 tests have been conducted in the last 24 hours. More than 70,000 tests have been conducted in May surpassing the governor's goal of 60,000 for the month.
Since the start of the epidemic, Health Secretary Dr. Nate Smith said 121,302 tests have been conducted. That's about 4% of the population. The state has a total of 1,699 active cases. Hospitalizations have increased by 9 for a total of 113, which Dr. Smith said is the highest so far. Arkansas has 132 deaths related to the coronavirus, an increase of 7.
Gov. Hutchinson announced he has signed an executive order creating the COVID-19 Technical Advisory Board to review and evaluate new technologies as the state's public health agencies develop strategies for testing and contact tracing. The group is scheduled to meet for the first time Tuesday.
Effective June 1, state park campgrounds and bathhouses will reopen to the public. The Buffalo National River and Hot Springs National Park reopened campgrounds today.
You can watch the entire daily briefing here.
