LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson says he believes his plan to remove a mask mandate intended to slow the spread of the coronavirus will take place at the end of the month, as previously announced.
On CNN’s ‘State of the Union’ Sunday, Hutchinson said the goals he announced in February to lift the mask mandate, which include a positivity rate of below 10 percent or fewer than 750 hospitalizations, are being met and he believes the mask requirement will be removed.
The state’s positivity rate was 9 percent, according to data from Johns Hopkins University on Sunday.
Figures released by the Arkansas Department of Health on Sunday show a continued decline in the state’s active case count, which dropped to 2,578.
The state added 108 cases from the prior day to bring the total during the pandemic to 328,655, while the six additional confirmed deaths brought that total to 5,539.
Vaccination efforts continued over the weekend, with just over 8,000 vaccinations being administered between the state and federal programs in Arkansas on Sunday.
