On Friday, three days before the start of school, the Arkansas Department of Health reported 887 new cases of COVID-19, as well as 22 additional deaths. Fifteen counties had more than 20 new cases, including 57 in Washington County, 47 in Benton County, 38 in Sebastian County, and 23 in Crawford County. Hospitalizations rose by ten people, bringing that total to 509. There were also more people on ventilators. Governor Asa Hutchinson announced the state has completed testing all inmates at correctional facilities. Of the 14,650 inmates, more than 5,100 tested positive. That's an overall positivity rate of about 35 percent, but the positivity rate has been hovering around four percent the last two weeks. The governor was asked if the high numbers of cases and deaths gave him any pause about in-person learning, which resumes Monday. He said it means people are not being entirely careful in their activities and communities need to do more. Hutchinson was encouraged by the one percent point drop in unemployment in the past month to 7.9 percent, which is three percentage points lower than the national unemployment rate. To watch the full briefing, click here.
State Reports 887 New COVID-19 Cases, School Resumes Monday
