Arkansas has reached another new record for COVID-19 hospitalizations as thousands of students are heading back to school.
The state on Monday reported 46 new virus hospitalizations, bringing its total COVID-19 patients to 1,459. That surpasses the record high the state reached last week.
The state’s COVID-19 deaths increased by 31.
School began Monday at many locations across the state, with most of the state’s public school students required to wear masks after a judge blocked the state’s mask mandate ban.
At least 70 public school districts and charter schools have imposed mask requirements since the ruling.
On Monday, White River Health System reported its COVID unit was 100 percent full. Almost 85 percent of those patients were unvaccinated, the organization noted.
Also on Monday, the Southside School Board unanimously approved a policy regarding mask requirements. Click here for that story.
For information on other school districts and their mask policies, click here.
Elements of this story utilized information from the Associated Press
If you have yet to be immunized against COVID-19, White River Now urges you to talk to your trusted local physician or pharmacist about the COVID-19 vaccine.
For COVID-19 information from the Arkansas Department of Health, click here.
For information from local physicians about COVID-19 vaccines, click here.
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