During his daily press conference, Governor Hutchinson explained that what officials are looking for is a leveling off or reduction of positive cases of COVID-19 in Arkansas. According to the Governor, "Phase 2 is for states and regions with no evidence of a rebound and that satisfy the 'gating criteria' a second time." While Governor Hutchinson said that while we have seen a rise in positive cases, it is also because we have been processing many more tests than before.
Dr. Smith provided a little more detail about the statistics that we were presented with by saying that there were 358 new cases, and 356 of those were community spread. He also pointed out that while there were an increase in the number of patients on ventilators, there was a decrease in the number of patients who were hospitalized, and that 202 more people have recovered from the virus. See the full press conference in the video below.