For the first time in months, the Arkansas Department of Health on Friday, July 8, reported more than 100 active cases of COVID-19 in Carroll County.

Friday’s report listed 112 active cases of the novel coronavirus in the county — up from the 85 reported July 1 — and an increase of 67 new cases in seven days. The state health department reported 77 active cases on June 24 and 59 on June 17.

Statewide, the number of active cases reported July 8 was 14,143 — up from the previous week’s reported total of 10,141 — and an increase of 9,608 in the overall case count, an increase of 42,072 new cases since April 4.

No new COVID-related deaths were reported locally, leaving the countywide death toll from the novel coronavirus at 106. Statewide, the number of deaths increased by 27 since July 1, rising to a reported 11,608 on July 8.

The overall case count in Carroll County increased to 6,401 since the pandemic began, along with 6,183 “recoveries,” meaning they are no longer being monitored by the health department. Statewide, the number of new cases increased by 4,582, an increase of 32,464 cases since April 4, rising to 875,200 with 849,300 recoveries.

On July 8, the state health department reported 302 COVID-positive hospital admissions, with 54 in intensive care. Of those, eight required the aid of a ventilator.

On July 1, the number of hospitalizations was 242, with 47 in intensive care and 12 on a ventilator.

Since the pandemic began, hospitalizations in Arkansas have included 1,441 children under the age of 18 — an increase of 4 in seven days — including 172 who had been in intensive care.

On July 1, the state health department reported 1,783 active cases among children — up from the 1,406 reported July 1 — more than 12.6 percent of the statewide total.

The age group with the most active cases was 65-and-older with 2,880, followed by those 25-34 with 2,313 and those 35-44 with 2,017, all of which are up since July 1. The 45-54 age group is close behind with 1,936 reported active cases.

Since Jan. 1, the number of overall cases of the novel coronavirus in the state has increased by 310,658, with the majority of those occurring among unvaccinated individuals. The number of active cases in Arkansas this year peaked on Jan. 21, when 102,576 were reported.

On the vaccination front, the state health department reported July 8 the number of Arkansans aged 5 and older who are fully vaccinated had increased to 1,643,260 — a total of 135,222 since Jan. 1 — with another 286,109 listed as partially vaccinated and 767,790 listed as having received a third-dose booster.

Combined, those numbers represent approximately 67.9 percent of Arkansans aged 5 and older.

In Carroll County, 29,783 doses of the various vaccines had been administered by Jan. 1. As of July 8, that number had increased to a reported 35,315 doses.

According to the state health department, 53 percent of Carroll County residents aged 5 and older have been fully immunized and another 7.3 percent are partially immunized.

Combined, those numbers represent approximately 60.9 percent of the county’s population that is eligible to receive a vaccine.