2:52 P.M. UPDATE: Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Tuesday he's looking at closing some state parks over concerns about visitors coming to the state during the coronavirus outbreak.
Hutchinson said he has heard concerns about large numbers of people crowding the state's parks, despite the state's prohibition on gatherings of more than 10 people in confined spaces. He said he has asked state parks officials to recommend ways to curtail the flow of out-of-state recreational visitors.
-The Associated Press
2:13 P.M. UPDATE: An additional person has died of covid-19, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Tuesday at a news conference where he also announced the number of cases is rising slower than expected.
The total number of cases rose to 523, Hutchinson said, and the additional death brought the toll in the state to eight.
Hutchinson said last week the state could see 3,500 cases by mid-April. On Tuesday, he said the actual number of cases is rising slower than expected, and if the number of cases continues on its current trajectory, fewer than 3,500 cases would be expected by April 10.
[Don't see the video above, click here.]
Hutchinson said this proves the efficacy of social distancing and the other measures Arkansans have taken to limit the spread of covid-19.
New cases were detected in Columbia, Newton and Perry counties, Health Secretary Nate Smith said.
Of the 523 cases, 17 are children, 348 are adults 18-64 and 158 are 65 or older. Smith said 79 of the cases are health care workers.
Smith said 64 patients are hospitalized, including 23 on ventilators.
– Nyssa Kruse