HOUSTON, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- The daily new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. state of Arkansas continued to rise on Friday, setting a new record of more than 2,800 cases.
Official figures showed that the southern state reported 2,827 new cases on Friday, following an increase of 2,789 a day earlier. The state's death toll from the coronavirus reached 2,586 on Friday, 31 more than the previous day.
"We are at a critical point in combating this virus as we continue to see record numbers of new cases each day," Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson said in a statement.
According to local media, Hutchinson previously said he did not plan on putting more restrictions on businesses and would not move schools online. But he had encouraged social distancing, mask-wearing and hand washing.
Media quoted local officials as saying that the largest source of COVID-19 clusters is social gatherings. The recent spikes could signal the beginning of a post-Thanksgiving surge that officials had predicted before the holiday. Enditem
