For Immediate Release

Aug. 19, 2021

Contact

John Lyon
Strategic Communications Manager
501-526-2244
jlyon@achi.net

ALL BUT 3 ARKANSAS SCHOOL DISTRICTS NOW IN ORANGE, RED, OR PURPLE ON ACHI’S COVID-19 MAP

200 Districts Have 14-Day Infection Rates of 50 or More New Known Infections per 10K Residents, Up From 182 Last Week

LITTLE ROCK ― Two hundred Arkansas school districts have COVID-19 infection rates of 50 or more new known infections per 10,000 district residents over a 14-day period, up from 182 a week earlier and only one short of the record high from January of 201 districts, the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement said Thursday. The information is based on Arkansas Department of Health data obtained Monday.

Of those 200 districts, 50 have 14-day COVID-19 infection rates of 100 or more new known infections per 10,000 district residents, or more than 1% of residents, up from 42 a week earlier.

The local-level COVID-19 data 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.

A district with 30 to 49 new known infections is shaded orange on the map. This week, all but three districts ― Mountainburg, Dierks, and Junction City ― are orange, red, or purple.

The color-shading of a district is based on infections among community residents living within the geographical boundaries of the school districts and not on cases among school employees and students. However, this week ACHI added information on known infections among school employees and students, based on the Department of Health’s weekly Educational Institutions Report. Hover over a school district to see this information.

“COVID-19 is surging in Arkansas because of the highly contagious delta variant and the state’s low vaccination rate,” said ACHI President and CEO Dr. Joe Thompson. “With the school year beginning in this difficult time, it is imperative that schools use a combination of measures to protect students: vaccination for those who are eligible, masks, social distancing, good hand hygiene, and increased ventilation. School leaders who have made the decision to require masks in the classroom are to be commended. But the most effective way to prevent outbreaks in schools is for the residents of the communities to get vaccinated.”

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.

As of Monday, the following 200 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 – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Augusta
o   Bald Knob
o   Barton-Lexa – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Batesville
o   Bauxite – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Bay
o   Beebe
o   Benton
o   Bentonville
o   Bergman
o   Berryville
o   Bismarck
o   Blytheville*
o   Booneville
o   Bradford
o   Brinkley
o   Brookland – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Bryant
o   Buffalo Island Central
o   Cabot
o   Caddo Hills
o   Camden Fairview
o   Carlisle
o   Cave City – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Cedar Ridge
o   Cedarville
o   Centerpoint
o   Charleston*
o   Clarendon
o   Clarksville
o   Cleveland County
o   Clinton
o   Concord
o   Conway
o   Corning
o   Cossatot River
o   Cotter – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   County Line*
o   Cross County
o   Crossett*
o   Cutter-Morning Star – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Dardanelle
o   Decatur*
o   Deer-Mt. Judea – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   DeQueen*
o   Dermott*
o   Des Arc – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   DeWitt
o   Dover – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Drew Central
o   Dumas*
o   Earle*
o   East End
o   East Poinsett County*
o   Elkins – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Emerson-Taylor-Bradley
o   England
o   Eureka Springs*
o   Farmington – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Fayetteville
o   Flippin
o   Fordyce
o   Fort Smith
o   Fouke
o   Fountain Lake
o   Genoa Central*
o   Gentry
o   Glen Rose – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Gosnell*
o   Gravette
o   Green Forest
o   Greenbrier – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Greene County Tech – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Greenland
o   Greenwood
o   Gurdon
o   Guy-Perkins
o   Hackett
o   Hamburg
o   Hampton
o   Harmony Grove (Saline County) – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Harrisburg – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Harrison
o   Hazen
o   Heber Springs – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Hector
o   Helena-West Helena
o   Highland
o   Hope*
o   Horatio – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Hot Springs
o   Huntsville
o   Izard County Consolidated
o   Jackson County
o   Jacksonville
o   Jessieville – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Jonesboro – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Lafayette County
o   Lake Hamilton – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Lakeside
o   Lamar – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Lavaca
o   Lawrence County
o   Lead Hill
o   Lee County
o   Lincoln – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Little Rock
o   Lonoke – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Magazine
o   Magnet Cove – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Magnolia*
o   Malvern – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Manila
o   Marion – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Marked Tree – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Marmaduke
o   Marvell
o   Mayflower
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   Mineral Springs*
o   Monticello
o   Mount Ida*
o   Mountain Home
o   Mountain Pine – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Mountain View
o   Mt. Vernon-Enola – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Nashville
o   Nettleton
o   Newport
o   Norfork
o   North Little Rock
o   Omaha
o   Osceola*
o   Ouachita
o   Ozark – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Palestine-Wheatley
o   Pangburn
o   Paragould – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Paris
o   Pea Ridge
o   Perryville
o   Piggott*
o   Pine Bluff
o   Pocahontas*
o   Pottsville
o   Poyen – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Prairie Grove – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Prescott*
o   Pulaski County Special
o   Quitman – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Rector
o   Riverside*
o   Riverview – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Rogers
o   Rose Bud – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Russellville
o   Salem – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Scranton*
o   Searcy – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Searcy County
o   Sheridan
o   Shirley
o   Siloam Springs
o   Sloan-Hendrix*
o   South Conway County
o   South Pike County
o   South Side
o   Southside
o   Springdale
o   Star City – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Strong-Huttig
o   Stuttgart – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Texarkana*
o   Trumann – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Two Rivers
o   Valley Springs
o   Valley View
o   Van Buren
o   Vilonia
o   Watson Chapel
o   West Fork – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   West Memphis
o   West Side – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   Westside
o   Westside Consolidated – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   White County Central – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
o   White Hall
o   Wonderview
o   Woodlawn
o   Wynne
o   Yellville-Summit – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents

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.

###