For Immediate Release

Sept. 23, 2021

Contact

Sandra McGrew
Director of External Relations
(501) 526-2244
smcgrew@achi.net

147 SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN RED, PURPLE ZONES ON ACHI’S MAP FOR NEW COVID-19 INFECTIONS

5 Districts Have Reached or Surpassed 50% Vaccination Among Residents

LITTLE ROCK ― One hundred forty-seven Arkansas public school districts have COVID-19 infection rates of 50 or more new known infections per 10,000 district residents over a 14-day period, down from 161 last week, the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement said Thursday.

The health policy center also said that five of the state’s school districts have achieved COVID-19 vaccination rates of at least 50% of district residents — up from three the previous week — with Fountain Lake (51%) and Pulaski County Special School District (50%) joining Bentonville (52%), Cleveland County (52%), and Magnet Cove (51%) this week.

Among the 147 districts with 14-day infection rates of 50 or more new known infections per 10,000 residents, 28 have 14-day infection rates of 100 or more new known infections per 10,000 residents, or more than 1% of the total population in each of those districts. This is down from last week’s total of 35, according to Arkansas Department of Health data obtained Monday.

The school district-level information, along with other local-level data on infection and vaccination rates, can be found on ACHI’s COVID-19 in Arkansas web page at achi.net/covid19. On ACHI’s map of Arkansas school districts, a district with 50 to 99 new known infections per 10,000 residents is shaded red, and a district with 100 or more new known infections per 10,000 residents is shaded purple. The color-shading of a district is based on infections among community residents living within the geographical boundaries of each school district and not on cases among school employees and students.

Known infections reported by ACHI include confirmed and probable cases. Probable cases are based on verbal reporting and antigen test results, as identified by the Department of Health.

Infection rates and counts are not shown for districts with fewer than five reported infections to reduce the possibility of identifying individuals. School district counts do not include infections among incarcerated populations, in nursing homes, or in human development centers.

ACHI also updated its maps and tables displaying COVID-19 vaccination rates by public school district, community, and ZIP code, using Department of Health data current as of Monday. This information is the product of a partnership between ACHI and the Arkansas Department of Health.

As of Monday, the following 147 school districts had a rate of at least 50 new known infections per 10,000 district residents over the previous 14 days. An asterisk indicates that a district is new to the list this week.

o   Alma
o   Alpena*
o   Armorel*
o   Ashdown
o   Atkins
o   Augusta – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Barton-Lexa – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Batesville*
o   Bauxite*
o   Benton
o   Bismarck
o   Blevins
o   Blytheville
o   Booneville
o   Bradford*
o   Brinkley
o   Brookland – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Buffalo Island Central
o   Caddo Hills
o   Carlisle
o   Cedar Ridge*
o   Cedarville – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Centerpoint
o   Clarksville
o   Cleveland County
o   Concord
o   Corning – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Cossatot River – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Cross County
o   Crossett
o   Danville
o   Dardanelle
o   Decatur
o   DeQueen
o   East Poinsett County
o   Elkins*
o   Emerson-Taylor-Bradley
o   Eureka Springs
o   Fordyce
o   Foreman
o   Forrest City
o   Fort Smith
o   Fouke
o   Gentry
o   Glen Rose
o   Gosnell
o   Green Forest
o   Greenbrier
o   Greene County Tech
o   Greenwood
o   Gurdon*
o   Hackett
o   Hamburg
o   Harrisburg
o   Hazen
o   Heber Springs
o   Hector
o   Helena-West Helena
o   Hermitage
o   Highland – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Hillcrest
o   Horatio – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Hoxie – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Huntsville
o   Izard County Consolidated*
o   Jessieville
o   Jonesboro
o   Junction City
o   Lafayette County
o   Lakeside (Ashley and Chicot Counties)
o   Lamar
o   Lawrence County
o   Lead Hill*
o   Lee County*
o   Lincoln
o   Magazine – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Magnet Cove*
o   Malvern
o   Mammoth Spring – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Manila – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Mansfield
o   Marion
o   Marked Tree
o   Marmaduke – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Marvell
o   Maynard*
o   McCrory – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   McGehee
o   Melbourne*
o   Mena
o   Midland – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Monticello
o   Mountain View*
o   Mountainburg – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Mt. Vernon-Enola
o   Mulberry-Pleasant View – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Nashville
o   Nemo Vista
o   Nettleton
o   Nevada – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Newport
o   Osceola – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Ouachita
o   Ouachita River
o   Ozark
o   Palestine-Wheatley
o   Pangburn
o   Paragould – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Paris
o   Parkers Chapel
o   Pea Ridge
o   Perryville
o   Piggott
o   Pocahontas – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Pottsville
o   Poyen – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Prairie Grove
o   Prescott – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Quitman
o   Rector
o   Rivercrest – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Riverside
o   Rose Bud
o   Russellville
o   Salem
o   Siloam Springs
o   Sloan-Hendrix
o   South Conway County
o   South Pike County – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   South Side
o   Southside – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Spring Hill*
o   Springdale
o   Strong-Huttig*
o   Stuttgart
o   Texarkana
o   Trumann
o   Two Rivers
o   Van Buren
o   Waldron – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   West Memphis
o   Western Yell County
o   Westside
o   Westside Consolidated – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   White County Central
o   Wynne
o   Yellville-Summit

ACHI is a nonpartisan, independent health policy center that serves as a catalyst for improving the health of all Arkansans through evidence-based research, public issue advocacy, and collaborative program development.

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