The Arkansas Department of Health reported 398 new cases of COVID-19 from about 4,900 PCR tests and 70 positives from about 430 antigen tests during the last 24-hour monitoring period. There were also 12 more deaths bringing the total to 940. Three of the deaths are from more than three weeks ago. Both the number of people in hospitals from complications and the number of people on ventilators have decreased. Governor Asa Hutchinson said he was encouraged by a week of lower case numbers compared to the week before and it appeared people were taking the situation seriously as students returned to school. He also praised the state's contact tracing efforts for identifying clusters of cases allowing for the timely notification of affected individuals, which kept the virus from spreading. Hutchinson also addressed yesterday's headlines regarding President Trump's interviews with journalist Bob Woodward for a new book in which the president acknowledged he knew the coronavirus was worse than the flu and admitted to downplaying the seriousness of the situation while communicating the opposite to the public. The governor said the public was very well-informed thanks to Dr. Anthony Fauci. Hutchinson will travel to Mena tomorrow for tomorrow's briefing and announced that starting next week, he will only provide weekly updates with additional briefings as needed. To watch the full briefing, click here.
Governor Announces Daily COVID-19 Briefings Will End This Week
