to approve $1.1 million from the rainy day fund for upgrades to the unemployment system. secretary of commerce mike preston said the arkansas economic development commission had received around 300 calls and emails inquiring about the business loans the governor had outlined earlier in the week. march 23–26 the individual income tax filing deadline was moved to july 15 and governor hutchinson planned to call for a special legislative session to deal with expected budget shortfalls due to the pandemic. corporate taxes would still be due april 15. governor hutchinson expected an estimated $353 million shortfall for the state budget. barber shops, beauty and nail salons, massage parlors, and tattoo shops were ordered closed beginning tuesday, march 24. in cleburne county, a deacon for a local church said that 34 people who attended an event at the church had tested positive and others were awaiting results. the first death in the state was reported on march 24, a 91-year-old male from faulkner county. in his daily press conference, governor hutchinson reported that a second death had also occurred, a 59-year-old male from sherwood. governor hutchinson reaffirmed that he did not want to issue a shelter-in-place order like other states had despite saying the state was still in the beginning stages of its outbreak. both governor hutchinson and dr. nate smith remarked that april 12 would be too early for the state to return to normal operations, which is the date u.s. president donald trump had targeted during an interview earlier in the day. on march 25, the adh issued a recommendation that all travelers from new york and all international travelers should self-quarantine for 14 days. on march 26, the state reported its third death from the virus, a 73-year-old male from cleburne county. governor hutchinson announced a $116 million plan to provide support for healthcare workers in the state, with $91 million coming from the federal government. this plan would provide nurses an additional $1,000 a month with that number rising to $2,000 a month for nurses treating a covid-19 patient. march 27–31 on march 28, the state confirmed two more deaths, bringing the total to five. both cases were in central arkansas, with one person being in their 70s and the other in their 40s. the number of unemployment claims for the previous week were a record 30,000, an increase from the 9,400 the previous week. on march 30, the state reported its seventh death, an 83-year-old woman infected in a nursing home in little rock. the state legislative leaders approved governor hutchinson's request to use $45 million from the newly created covid-19 rainy-day fund. these funds would primarily be used for the purchase of personal protective equipment (ppe). april 1–6 arkansas department of parks and tourism secretary stacy hurst, in an effort to limit out-of-state tourists, announced that state parks would no longer allow overnight stays and would limit the number of available parking spaces. certain trails at petit jean state park and pinnacle mountain state park were deemed problematic and closed. governor hutchinson made a recommendation to the united states secretary of the interior, david bernhardt, that the buffalo national river be closed. state rep. reginald murdock of marianna announced that he had tested positive for covid-19. an arkansas national guardsman preparing a nasopharyngeal swab at a drive-thru covid-19 testing site on april 2, governor hutchinson defended his decision to not order a shelter-in-place, arguing that the steps the state had taken were enough and that an official order to close non-essential businesses would put at least 100,000 more arkansans out of work. wendy kelly, director of the arkansas department of correction, announced that the state's prisoners would be manufacturing cloth masks for the prison system, with an expectation of 80,000 masks being produced. a second member of the state legislature, rep. vivian flowers of pine bluff, tested positive. on april 4, governor hutchinson signed an executive order limiting the types of guests that can stay at hotels, motels, and vacation rentals to: healthcare professionals; first responders; law enforcement; state or federal employees on official business; national guard members on active duty; airline crew members; patients of hospitals and their families; journalists; persons unable to return to their home due to covid-19 travel restrictions; arkansas citizens unable to return to their home due to exigent circumstances, such as fire, flood, tornado, or other disaster; persons in need of shelter due to domestic violence or homelessness; employees of hotels, motels, or other service providers/contractors of a hotel or motel; and persons away from their home due to work or work-related travel. he added that the state had seen a 40 percent reduction in travel since the beginning of the emergency. the arkansas national guard work at delivery of personal protection equipment to designated healthcare facilities. on april 6, governor hutchinson announced that schools would remain closed for the remainder of the school year. he also announced that the state would send five ventilators to louisiana to help with their spread of the disease, saying arkansas has around 800 ventilators with about 550 not being used. april 28–30 on april 28, secretary hurst announced that beginning may 1, arkansas residents with self-contained campers would be allowed to return to state parks, and that overnight cabins and lodges would reopen for weekend stays for in-state residents beginning may 15, along with restaurants and food service within parks, museums, exhibits, and visitors centers. on april 29, governor hutchinson said that restaurants may choose to reopen on may 11 at one-third of their capacity along with other restrictions. bars, bars within restaurants, and entertainment at restaurants would not be allowed to reopen. he announced a $15 million grant program to help business pay for expenses related to reopening with the funds coming from money the state received from the federal coronavirus aid, relief, and economic security act. on april 30, he further announced that gyms and athletic clubs could reopen on may 4 with sanitation and social distancing measures. showers, pools, spas, and saunas would continue to be banned from use. may 2020 on may 4, governor hutchinson announced that large indoor venues could reopen on may 18 for audiences of fewer than 50, with strict social distancing protocols among those in attendance and performers. on may 23, governor hutchinson cautioned arkansas residents to maintain social distancing on memorial day weekend when a cluster of coronavirus cases occurred after a high school swim party that month. june 2020 representative french hill visiting a factory in conway, arkansas on june 15, governor hutchinson moved arkansas into phase 2 of reopening, allowing businesses to fill up to two thirds capacity. this resulted in a spike of over 3000 new cases. on june 16, the city of fayetteville published a mask mandate due to the recent spike in cases. july 2020 on july 11, arkansas saw its biggest one-day jump to date in cases with 1,061 new reported infections. on july 20, university of arkansas chancellor joe steinmetz announced that the university will be providing personal protection kits to all students and faculty preceding the fall 2020 semester. he also announced the continued offering of hybrid courses and enforcement of mask requirements on campus facilities. during the month of july, arkansas saw a 63% increase in deaths and an 84% increase in hospitalizations, greatly exceeding the national average of only a 19% increase in deaths in july. august 2020 on august 7, governor hutchinson declared covid-19 to be a valid reason to vote absentee in the 2020 election. on august 31, the university of arkansas reported 151 new cases at its fayetteville campus, for a total of 222 active cases. public schools reported 440 active cases, for a total of 1,198 since june 15. september 2020 on september 3, there had been at least 4,627 cases among arkansas poultry workers. on september 4, the state had conducted about 11,000 tests in one day, with a positivity rate was near 10%. this was the largest one-day increase in new cases, driven by cases at the university of arkansas. by september 26, arkansas passed 80,000 cumulative cases of covid-19 with northwest arkansas having the most cases of the virus. october 2020 by october 3, the state had more than 1,400 deaths from coronavirus, with 1,260 being confirmed cases and 147 being probable. on october 6, governor hutchinson reported that hospitalizations reached an all-time high of 529 with the previous record being 526 in early august. by october 8, arkansas had exceeded 90,000 cumulative cases of covid-19, with pulaski county having the most at 9,653 persons. on october 9, the state had more than 7,000 active cases of coronavirus and over 91,000 cumulative cases. by october 10, arkansas surpassed 92,000 cumulative cases. on october 11, the baptist health center for clinical research announced the need for 800 volunteers from the state for a 25-month covid-19 vaccine trial in conjunction with drug manufacturer moderna. seven months to the week that the state declared initial emergency order to fight the spread of coronavirus, governor hutchinson extended it by another 60 days due to rising cases, especially in rural counties throughout the state. on october 14, the state received over 100,000 rapid testing kits from the white house which the governor planned on prioritizing to for schools, department of correction personnel, and human resource services. by october 18, arkansas surpassed 1,700 deaths due to covid-19. on october 20, the state passed over 100,000 total cases of coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, with a total of 8,422 active cases. governor hutchinson announced in a briefing the limiting future appearances, after being potentially exposed the previous week to one state senator and two house members who tested positive for covid-19. all legislative meetings by the arkansas house of representatives were postponed for the remainder of the week, following the developments. the following day on october 21, two more senators revealed they tested positive for the coronavirus. by october 22, according to data collected by the new york times, arkansas was averaging 907 cases per day, an increase of 23% percent from the previous average two weeks prior. on october 23, active cases past 9,000 for the first time since the start of the pandemic. arkansas surgeon general, gregory bledsoe, on october 28 was the 11th state official to test positive for the coronavirus, along with his immediate family which includes state senator cecile bledsoe. by october 30, arkansas had over 110,000 total cases of coronavirus since the state's first case. november 2020 on november 5, arkansas posted a new record in daily cases with a spike of 1,548 positive cases. june 2021 as arkansas was one of five u.s. states with less than 35% of its population vaccinated, dr. scott gottlieb, former commissioner of the u.s. food and drug administration, predicted the state was at risk for outbreaks of the delta variant. gottlieb was right. republican gov. asa hutchinson of arkansas said on 2 july low vaccination rates in his state are the reason covid cases are skyrocketing there. july 2021 as of july 25, 2021, 40.9% of the population 12 years and up (1,045,552) are fully immunized and 10.87% of them (277,908) were partially immunized. total (registered) cases: 37,350; total (registered) active cases: 15,227; total (registered) deaths: 6,054 (plus unreported cases). due to a dramatic increase in covid-19 cases, as of july 30, 2021, all seven of arkansas's national park service sites enforced mask mandates. regardless of vaccination status, masks are required in all federal buildings on national park properties. august 2021 on august 9, 2021, arkansas reported that 1,376 people were currently hospitalized with covid-19, the highest number ever. of these, 509 were in icus and 286 were on ventilators. only 8 icu beds in the entire state were available. as of august 12, 2021, the only national park property to offer visitor's services (open visitor center, limited historical house tours) in the entire state is the president william jefferson clinton birthplace home national historic site. this is due to the dramatic rise in covid-19 cases throughout the state. government response state government on march 11, 2020, governor hutchinson declared a public health emergency in response to the first presumptive case in the state. on march 12, the governor ordered school closings in saline, jefferson, pulaski,