ARKANSAS SCHOOL DISTRICTS WITH HIGH COMMUNITY INFECTION RATES NOW AT 179

LITTLE ROCK ― There are now 179 Arkansas school districts that have had 50 or more new known COVID-19 infections per 10,000 district residents over a 14-day period, up from 171 a week ago, the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement said Thursday. This is the fourth consecutive week that more than 50% of the state’s public school districts have been on the list. Twenty-six school districts were added to the list this week, and 153 remained on the list.

ACHI also found that 34 school districts ― a new record ― had exceeded 100 new known infections per 10,000 district residents over a 14-day period, or more than 1% of local residents: Brinkley, Brookland, Centerpoint, Clarendon, Cutter-Morning Star, Danville, Dardanelle, Des Arc, Dover, Gentry, Glen Rose, Guy-Perkins, Hector, Kirby, McCrory, Melbourne, Mt. Vernon-Enola, Nemo Vista, Pangburn, Paris, Pea Ridge, Poyen, Prairie Grove, Quitman, Russellville, Salem, Scranton, Siloam Springs, South Conway County, Trumann, Vilonia, Waldron, West Fork, and Wonderview.

ACHI identified school districts with high infection rates by analyzing data received Monday from the Arkansas Department of Health. The infections are among community residents living within the geographical boundaries of the school districts and are not specific to school employees and students. Known infections include confirmed and probable cases. Probable cases are based on verbal reporting and antigen test results, as identified by the Department of Health.

ACHI identifies districts with 50 to 99 new known infections per 10,000 residents as being in the “red zone” and districts with 100 or more new known infections per 10,000 residents as being in the “purple zone.” The districts are shaded in these colors on the school district map on ACHI’s COVID-19 in Arkansas web page at achi.net/covid19.

“We are fighting a battle against COVID-19 that too many are losing,” said ACHI President and CEO Dr. Joe Thompson. “While we have two highly effective and safe COVID-19 vaccines that are being distributed over the course of the next several months, the call to action remains this: Take the day-to-day precautions of washing your hands, staying at least 6 feet away from people who are not members of your household, and wearing a mask in public. Keep these up even after you get vaccinated. This is how we fight this threat and return to normal.”

Rates of new known infections in school districts across the state, as well as counts of cumulative and new infections, are tracked on ACHI’s COVID-19 in Arkansas web page. Rates and counts are not shown for districts with fewer than five 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 179 school districts had a rate of at least 50 new known infections per 10,000 district residents over the previous 14 days. An asterisk denotes a district that entered the list this week.

• Alma
• Alpena
• Arkadelphia
• Armorel*
• Ashdown*
• Atkins
• Augusta
• Bald Knob
• Barton-Lexa
• Batesville*
• Bauxite
• Bay
• Bearden
• Beebe*
• Benton
• Bentonville
• Bergman
• Berryville
• Bismarck
• Blytheville
• Booneville*
• Brinkley – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
• Brookland – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
• Bryant
• Buffalo Island Central
• Cabot
• Caddo Hills*
• Calico Rock*
• Camden Fairview*
• Carlisle
• Cave City
• Cedar Ridge
• Cedarville*
• Centerpoint – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
• Charleston
• Clarendon – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
• Clarksville
• Cleveland County
• Clinton
• Concord
• Conway
• Corning
• Cotter*
• Cross County
• Crossett
• Cutter-Morning Star – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
• Danville – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
• Dardanelle – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
• Decatur
• Des Arc – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
• Dover – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
• Drew Central
• East End
• El Dorado
• Elkins*
• England
• Eureka Springs
• Farmington
• Fayetteville
• Flippin*
• Foreman*
• Fort Smith
• Gentry – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
• Glen Rose – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
• Gravette
• Greenbrier
• Greene County Tech
• Greenwood
• Guy-Perkins – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
• Hackett*
• Hampton*
• Harmony Grove (Clark, Dallas, and Ouachita Counties)
• Harmony Grove (Saline County)
• Harrisburg
• Harrison
• Hazen
• Heber Springs
• Hector – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
• Hermitage
• Highland
• Hillcrest
• Hoxie
• Huntsville
• Izard County Consolidated
• Jacksonville
• Jasper
• Jessieville
• Jonesboro
• Junction City*
• Kirby – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
• Lake Hamilton
• Lakeside
• Lamar
• Lavaca
• Lawrence County
• Lee County
• Lincoln
• Little Rock
• Lonoke
• Magnet Cove
• Malvern
• Mammoth Spring
• Manila*
• Mansfield*
• Marion
• Marked Tree
• Marmaduke
• Marvell
• Mayflower
• Maynard*
• McCrory – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
• McGehee
• Melbourne – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
• Mena*
• Midland
• Monticello
• Mountain Home*
• Mountain Pine
• Mountain View
• Mountainburg
• Mt. Vernon-Enola – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
• Nemo Vista – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
• Nettleton
• Norfork*
• North Little Rock
• Osceola
• Ouachita
• Ouachita River
• Ozark
• Palestine-Wheatley*
• Pangburn – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
• Paragould
• Paris – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
• Parkers Chapel
• Pea Ridge – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
• Perryville
• Pocahontas
• Pottsville
• Poyen – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
• Prairie Grove – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
• Pulaski County Special
• Quitman – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
• Rector
• Riverside
• Riverview
• Rogers
• Rose Bud*
• Russellville – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
• Salem – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
• Scranton – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
• Searcy
• Searcy County
• Sheridan
• Siloam Springs – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
• Sloan-Hendrix*
• Smackover
• South Conway County – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
• South Side
• Southside
• Springdale
• Star City
• Strong-Huttig
• Stuttgart
• Trumann – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
• Two Rivers
• Valley View
• Van Buren
• Vilonia – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
• Waldron – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
• Warren
• West Fork – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
• West Side
• Western Yell County
• Westside
• Westside Consolidated
• White Hall
• Wonderview – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents
• Woodlawn*
• Wynne

The following 18 districts were in the red or purple zone a week earlier but have dropped below that level this week: Bradford, Deer-Mt. Judea, Dierks, Dumas, Earle, East Poinsett County, Fordyce, Green Forest, Greenland, Hope, Horatio, Jackson County, Newport, Ozark Mountain, Piggott, Prescott, South Pike County, and 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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