COVID-19 in Arkansas: New cases continue to rise, first Omicron variant case reported in state

Omicron is officially in Arkansas.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — The Arkansas Department of Health reported 1,111 new cases on Friday, including the first reported case of the Omicron variant in the state.

Total active cases now total 7,721. 17 deaths brought the total number in Arkansas due to COVID-19 to 8,930.

538 Arkansans are currently hospitalized due to the virus, up nine from yesterday. 90 of those patients are on ventilators.

Arkansas has received 4,477,090 total vaccine doses and administered 3,596,972 of those, a rate of 80.3%.

The number of fully vaccinated people stands at 1,485,200, while 339,637 have received partial immunization.

Counties reporting the most new cases today are:

• Benton – 117
• Pulaski – 100
• Sebastian – 83

Gov. Asa Hutchinson noted that today’s report includes the first case of the Omicron Variant in Arkansas.

“This was expected,” he said in a tweet. “And we expect more cases of the variant to be confirmed in the near future.”