LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The number of deaths from COVID-19 in Arkansas has now pushed over 9,000.

The Arkansas Department of Health reported data on Wednesday showing there are now 9,007 Arkansans who have lost their life due to COVID-19, an increase of 10 from the previous day.

There were 897 new cases of the virus, raising the total cases to 545,934 since the pandemic began. The data showed that the number of active cases in the state jumped by 391 to 7,962 in the last day.

The figures also showed 494 patients currently hospitalized with COVID-19 in the state, a drop of two in the last 24 hours. There are 199 patients in ICU care, three fewer than the previous day, while the number of patients on ventilators ticked up by two and now sits at 98.

In a social media post, Gov. Asa Hutchinson stressed the need for boosters doses to try and prevent further surges after the upcoming holidays.

“More than 11,000 doses of the vaccine were given out today. I know there are many young adults who got the vaccine over 6 months ago but have delayed getting the booster,” Hutchinson wrote. “This would be the best time to get a booster shot. It will help us all in January.”

In the last 24 hours, 11,511 new COVID-19 vaccine doses were given to Arkansans. The number of Arkansans who are fully vaccinated rose to 1,492,888. Another 345,772 are partially immunized, while the number of Arkansans who’ve had a third dose is 406,514.