LITTLE ROCK ― In a single week, the number of Arkansas public school districts with COVID-19 infection rates of 50 or more new known infections per 10,000 district residents over a 14-day period has seen a nearly five-fold increase, going from 28 last week to 138 this week, the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement said Wednesday, citing its analysis of Arkansas Department of Health data current as of Monday.

The number of districts at this high level of community spread is not a record ― 201 districts were at 50 or more new known infections per 10,000 residents in the week of Jan. 11, 2021, and again in the week of Aug. 23 ― but the week-to-week increase is the largest on record.

“Arkansas is experiencing uncontrolled spread of the omicron variant,” said ACHI President and CEO Dr. Joe Thompson. “Arkansans need to take immediate precautions, and local school leaders need to take actions to protect our children.”

Thompson urged all school districts to require masks for students and staff, encourage vaccination, and redouble efforts at social distancing, hand washing, and increased ventilation. School leaders should also be prepared to transition to virtual learning, he said.

Of the 138 districts with 14-day rates of 50 or more new known infections per 10,000 residents,  39 have infection rates of more than 100 new known infections per 10,000 district residents over a 14-day period, up from five last week.

ACHI’s map showing COVID-19 infection rates in school districts ― available at achi.net/covid19 ― uses the following color key: 0 to 9 new known infections per 10,000 residents over 14 days, dark green; 10 to 19 infections per 10K residents, light green; 20 to 29 infections per 10K residents, yellow; 30 to 49 infections per 10K residents, orange; 50 to 99 infections per 10K residents, red; and 100 or more infections per 10K residents, purple.

As of Monday, the following 138 school districts had infection rates 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   Arkadelphia* – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents

o   Armorel*

o   Ashdown*

o   Atkins

o   Bald Knob*

o   Barton-Lexa* – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents

o   Bauxite*

o   Bay* – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents

o   Beebe*

o   Benton*

o   Bentonville*

o   Blytheville* – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents

o   Bradford*

o   Brinkley*

o   Brookland  – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents

o   Bryant* – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents

o   Buffalo Island Central*

o   Cabot*

o   Camden Fairview* – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents

o   Carlisle*

o   Cedar Ridge*

o   Clarendon*

o   Cleveland County*

o   Clinton*

o   Conway* – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents

o   Corning*

o   Dardanelle*

o   Decatur*

o   DeWitt*

o   Earle* – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents

o   East End* – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents

o   East Poinsett County  – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents

o   El Dorado* – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents

o   Elkins*

o   England*

o   Eureka Springs*

o   Farmington*

o   Fayetteville*

o   Forrest City* – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents

o   Fountain Lake*

o   Gentry*

o   Glen Rose*

o   Gosnell*

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   Greenwood*

o   Gurdon  – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents

o   Guy-Perkins* – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents

o   Hamburg*

o   Harmony Grove (Clark, Dallas, and Ouachita Counties)*

o   Harmony Grove (Saline County)*

o   Harrisburg  – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents

o   Hazen*

o   Heber Springs*

o   Hector*

o   Helena-West Helena* – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents

o   Highland*

o   Hillcrest*

o   Hope*

o   Horatio*

o   Hoxie*

o   Izard County Consolidated*

o   Jackson County*

o   Jacksonville* – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents

o   Jasper*

o   Jonesboro  – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents

o   Junction City*

o   Lakeside (Ashley and Chicot Counties)*

o   Lawrence County

o   Lee County*

o   Little Rock* – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents

o   Lonoke*

o   Magnet Cove

o   Magnolia*

o   Malvern* – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents

o   Mammoth Spring

o   Manila* – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents

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   Maynard

o   Melbourne

o   Mineral Springs*

o   Monticello*

o   Mountain Home*

o   Mt. Vernon-Enola

o   Nashville*

o   Nettleton  – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents

o   Nevada*

o   North Little Rock* – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents

o   Omaha*

o   Osceola  – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents

o   Ouachita*

o   Palestine-Wheatley*

o   Paragould* – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents

o   Parkers Chapel*

o   Pea Ridge*

o   Perryville*

o   Pine Bluff*

o   Pocahontas*

o   Poyen*

o   Prairie Grove*

o   Prescott*

o   Pulaski County Special* – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents

o   Rivercrest  – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents

o   Riverside  – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents

o   Riverview*

o   Rogers*

o   Rose Bud*

o   Russellville*

o   Searcy County

o   Searcy*

o   Sheridan*

o   Smackover*

o   South Conway County*

o   South Pike County*

o   South Side*

o   Southside*

o   Spring Hill*

o   Springdale*

o   Star City

o   Strong-Huttig*

o   Stuttgart*

o   Trumann* – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents

o   Valley View  – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents

o   Van Buren*

o   Vilonia* – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents

o   Watson Chapel*

o   West Fork*

o   West Memphis  – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents

o   West Side*

o   Western Yell County

o   Westside Consolidated  – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents

o   White Hall* – rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10K residents

o   Wonderview*

o   Wynne*

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 the maps and tables on its website displaying vaccination rates by public school district, community, and ZIP code, using Department of Health data current as of Monday. Twenty-one school districts have achieved vaccination rates of at least 50% of district residents, one of them over 60%: Bentonville, at 61%.

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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