Arkansas reports biggest Covid spike in five months amid fears over Delta variant and vaccine hesitancy

Republican governor warns of ‘more cases, more hospitalisations and more deaths’

Arkansans wait in line for unemployment benefits (REUTERS)

Arkansas has recorded its highest one-day Covid case total in nearly five months, amid fears of the more infectious Delta variant spreading in low-vaccination areas.

The Arkansas department of health reported 1,000 Covid cases on Wednesday, two days after 1,246 cases were confirmed for the whole of the weekend, from Friday to Sunday.

It follows warnings from health authorities of a third wave of the virus, as infections from the Delta variant test Arkansas’ success at distributing Covid vaccines.

The Delta variant, thought to be 30 to 50 per cent more infectious than the original virus, is spreading throughout the US, with states with lower vaccination rates hit hardest.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 43 per cent of Arkansans have so far received a first dose, and 34 per cent are fully vaccinated from Covid.

Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson said on Tuesday he was touring the state for a series of “conversations” aimed at convincing more people to take up vaccines.

The rate of vaccinations in Arkansas is lower than the US average, and “that is not high enough to prevent more cases, more hospitalisations and more deaths”, Mr Hutchinson added.

While the state experienced a flat-lining in infections in April and May, the Delta variant has seen cases rise to 1,000 in a day – a figure not seen since early February.

In Arkansas and across the US, the Delta variant now accounts for more than half of all Covid infections, and those who are not fully vaccinated represent 99 per cent of all US hospitalisations with Covid.

Randy Zook, a president and chief executive of the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce, said many Arkansans were vaccine hesitant because of concerns of lost income with a short-term reaction to a vaccine.

Additional reporting by the Associated Press.