Just one week after saying he did not expect another spike in cases, Governor Hutchinson today backtracked on those comments by saying the state was “losing ground in Julyâ€.
Hutchinson announced the largest hospitalization increase since January along with an additional 270 cases and 6 deaths in the last 24 hours. Arkansas currently has 4645 active cases and the death toll is currently at 5926 since the pandemic began.
The governor admitted today that the state’s vaccination rate is lower than the national average and only one county in Arkansas has achieved a 50% vaccination rate in the entire state.
Today the governor ask employers to provide paid leave for employees seeking vaccinations and ask that employers encourage employees to get vaccinated.
The governor also mentioned the increase in the Delta variant of Covid in Arkansas. The Delta variant is now approximately 50% of the new cases nationwide. Governor Hutchinson went on to say that the current vaccination works well against this variant.