FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 25, 2022

LITTLE ROCK – At his weekly news briefing today, Governor Asa Hutchinson expressed his support for the people of Ukraine as they defend the current invasion from Russia. He also provided an update on COVID-19 in Arkansas.
Governor Hutchinson started by addressing the invasion of Ukraine from Russia and noted that we must stand with Ukraine as they begin their fight to retain their sovereignty.

"The United States needs to be clear in its unequivocal support for Ukraine," Governor Hutchinson said, "We need to be clear of our condemnation of Russia, and we must impose the most severe sanctions that are available."

COVID-19

After switching to weekly reports for COVID-19 in Arkansas, the state has seen numbers continue to decline which the governor said is a positive sign.

Active cases in Arkansas have decreased to 7,500 total. There were 1,630 new cases since Tuesday. Since Tuesday there have been 76 more deaths.

Vaccinations have slowed with an increase of 3,865 doses since Tuesday. Hospitalizations decreased by 120, and the number of patients on ventilators decreased by 13.

Governor Hutchinson noted he talked with Dr. Rochelle Walensky from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about new guidelines that the CDC will release later in the day. He said that we need to move to a more normal state and away from the pandemic, and he hopes the new CDC guidelines will reflect that idea.

To find daily updated numbers, the dashboard on the Arkansas Department of Health website is updated automatically. The dashboard can be found HERE.
You can watch the full briefing HERE.
You can view the slide presentation from today's briefing HERE