LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Active cases of COVID-19 in Arkansas are continuing their upward trend even as health officials have seen a slight drop in hospitalizations.

The latest data from the Arkansas Department of Health showed there were 7,547 active cases of the virus as of Wednesday, an increase of 128 from the previous day.

The ADH also showed that there were 860 new cases in the last day, raising the total number of cases in Arkansas to 535,450 since the pandemic began in 2020.

There were 20 deaths added to state figures Wednesday, pushing up the number of people who died in Arkansas from COVID-19 related since the beginning of the pandemic causes to 8,796.

Hospitalizations from COVID-19 in Arkansas are currently at 440, a drop of 16 in the last 24 hours. As of Wednesday, 80 people on ventilators, five fewer people than the previous day. There were 177 people in Arkansas intensive care units due to the virus, which is five less than the previous day.

“New cases are lower and vaccine doses administered are higher than this time last week. Unfortunately, we still see active cases rising,” Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in a Tweet.  “With the vast majority of new cases and hospitalizations among those who are unvaccinated, the vaccine is our best tool to fight COVID.”

Health officials also reported 13,255 new COVID-19 vaccine doses were given to Arkansans in the last 24 hours. The number of fully immunized Arkansans now stands at 1,463,789, while 334,180 residents are partially immunized.