Rising for the third day in a row, the number hospitalized grew by 18, to 176, its highest level since March 19.

The state’s count of cases rose by 332 — almost double the size of the daily increase a week earlier.

For the second time in four days, however, the state didn’t report any new deaths from covid-19.

Due to slowdowns in testing and reporting on weekends, the state’s new case numbers tend to be smaller on Sundays and Mondays than on other days.

The number on ventilators, which didn’t change on Sunday, rose Monday by two, to seven.

Dropping for the third straight day, the number who were in intensive care fell by one, to 20.

The average daily increase in the state’s case count over a rolling seven-day period rose Monday to 631, its highest level since the week ending March 1.

Already at its highest level since Feb. 24, the number of cases in the state that were considered active rose by 96, to 6,946, as new cases continued to outpace recoveries.

See the full article from the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette here.