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COVID-19 in Arkansas: A Weekly Snapshot

September 4, 2020

Author

Pader Moua, MPH
Policy Analyst
501-526-2244
PMoua@achi.net

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Heading into the Labor Day holiday weekend, new COVID-19 cases in Arkansas are soaring, with 1,094 new positive cases from PCR tests and 111 new positive cases from antigen tests reported today (Sept. 4), the biggest one-day increase since the pandemic began. The following is a roundup of data presenting a current snapshot of the pandemic in Arkansas.

K-12 schools in the state have officially been in session for two weeks. Several schools, including Marshall High School in the Searcy County School District and Earle Elementary School, announced this week they were moving to virtual instruction after COVID-19 cases were reported. According to the Arkansas Department of Health’s Educational Institution Report, there were 1,991 cumulative cases among public schools as of Thursday, Sept. 3. The majority of these, 1,473, are student cases.

Universities have also reported new cases this week. The University of Arkansas reported 185 new cases from Monday, Aug. 31, through Tuesday, Sept. 1. For Aug. 26 through Sept. 1, the University of Central Arkansas reported 18 new cases.

During his Thursday, Sept. 3, daily COVID-19 update, Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced the receipt of a letter from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asking states to prepare for the distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine in as early as Nov. 1. Additionally, the Department of Health announced that antigen testing data are now available on its website. From Jun. 11 through today, Sept. 4, 14,299 antigen tests were completed, of which 2,231 (15.6%) were positive.

On our COVID-19 in Arkansas page this week, we launched a new addition to our COVID-19: A Local View dashboard: the Arkansas Department of Health’s Educational Institution Report, showing active and cumulative cases among staff, students, and teachers within school districts. The report is displayed as an overlay on our school district boundaries case map; go to the page and hover over a school district to see the data.

We also updated the following sections on our COVID-19 page with data through Monday, Aug. 31:

  • COVID-19 case counts and rates among community residents grouped by city and school district boundaries.
  • ZIP code data, which include a map and table showing positive COVID-19 cases in each Arkansas ZIP code and rates of cumulative and active cases per 10,000 people who live in the ZIP codes.

Some key data points:

By School District

There are six school districts in the red zone this week as of Monday, Aug. 31, down from 13 as reported in the prior week. School districts in the red zone have 50 or more new cases per 10,000 residents in the community during a 14-day period. These school districts include:

  • Hector: 90 new cases per 10K residents
  • Fordyce: 69 new cases per 10K residents
  • Searcy County: 66 new cases per 10K residents
  • Clinton: 55 new cases per 10K residents
  • Mountain View: 54 new cases per 10K residents
  • Truman: 52 new cases per 10K residents

Four high schools in red-zone school districts have football games tonight: Clinton, Mountain View, Marshall, and Trumann. Three of the opponent schools are in the green zone with zero to nine cases per 10,000 residents, and one is in the orange zone with 30 to 49 cases per 10,000 residents.

By Community

The 10 communities with the highest percentages of active cases as of Aug. 31:

  • Marshall: 1.07%
  • Hector: 1.03%
  • Mount Ida: 0.74%
  • Mountain View: 0.71%
  • Fordyce: 0.67%
  • Clinton: 0.58%
  • Harrisburg: 0.58%
  • Trumann: 0.55%
  • Tyronza: 0.54%
  • Green Forest: 0.53%

The 10 communities with the highest percentages of cumulative cases as of Aug. 31:

  • Danville: 9.94%
  • De Queen: 8.53%
  • Brickeys: 7.80%
  • Bethel Heights: 7.55%
  • Springdale: 5.89%
  • Eudora: 5.48%
  • Chicot: 5.48%
  • Gould: 4.92%
  • Caddo Gap: 4.88%
  • Elaine: 4.80%

By Zip Code

The 5 zip codes with the highest rates of active cases as of Aug. 31:

  • 72686: 410 active cases per 10K residents
  • 71631: 183 active cases per 10K residents
  • 72617: 169 active cases per 10K residents
  • 71935: 163 active cases per 10K residents
  • 72683: 155 active cases per 10K residents

The 5 zip codes with the highest rates of cumulative cases as of Aug. 31:

  • 72553: 1,538 cumulative cases per 10K residents
  • 72833: 994 cumulative cases per 10K residents
  • 71832: 853 cumulative cases per 10K residents
  • 72320: 780 cumulative cases per 10K residents
  • 72764: 755 cumulative cases per 10K residents

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