Number of Arkansas school districts with high community infection rates now at 175

The number of school districts with COVID-19 infection rates of 50 or more per 10,000 district residents has decreased slightly over a two-week period.

According to the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement, a total of 175 Arkansas school districts have COVID-19 infection rates of 50 or more new infections per 10,000 district residents over a 14-day period. This is down from 201 a week ago, ACHI noted Thursday.

Of those districts, 22 have 14-day COVID-19 infection rates of 100 or more new known infections per 10,000 district residents, or more than 1% of local residents, down from 54 districts last week.

The center identified school districts with high infection rates by analyzing data received Monday, Jan. 18, 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, the ACHI news release explained.

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.

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 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 Jan. 18, the following 175 school districts had a rate of at least 50 new known infections per 10,000 district residents over the previous 14 days. Six school districts, denoted with asterisks, were added to the list this week, and 169 remained on the list. Thirty-two districts dropped off the list.

* Denotes a rate of 100 or more new known infections per 10,000 school district residents.

** Denotes the schools that were added to the list this week.

Alma *

Alpena

Arkadelphia

Atkins

Augusta

Barton-Lexa

Batesville

Bauxite*

Bay

Bearden

Beebe

Benton

Bentonville

Bergman

Berryville

Bismarck

Booneville

Bradford

Brinkley

Brookland

Bryant

Cabot

Camden Fairview

Carlisle

Cave City

Cedar Ridge

Cedarville

Centerpoint

Charleston

Clarendon*

Clarksville

Cleveland County

Clinton

Conway

Corning

County Line

Cross County

Cutter-Morning Star

Danville

Dardanelle*

Dermott

Des Arc

DeWitt

Dover*

Drew Central

East End

East Poinsett County**

El Dorado

Elkins

England

Eureka Springs

Farmington*

Fayetteville

Flippin

Fordyce*

Forrest City

Fort Smith

Fountain Lake

Gentry

Glen Rose*

Green Forest

Greenbrier

Greene County Tech

Greenland

Greenwood*

Guy-Perkins*

Hackett*

Hamburg**

Hampton

Harmony Grove (Clark, Dallas, and Ouachita Counties)

Harmony Grove (Saline County)

Harrisburg

Harrison

Hazen*

Heber Springs

Hector

Helena/West Helena

Hermitage

Highland

Hope

Hot Springs

Huntsville

Izard County Consolidated

Jackson County

Jacksonville

Jessieville

Jonesboro

Kirby

Lake Hamilton

Lakeside

Lamar

Lavaca*

Lawrence County

Lee County

Lincoln

Little Rock

Lonoke

Magazine

Magnet Cove

Malvern

Mansfield

Marion

Marked Tree

Marmaduke

Marvell**

Mayflower

McCrory

McGehee

Melbourne

Mena

Midland

Monticello

Mount Ida

Mountain Pine

Mountain View**

Mt. Vernon/Enola

Mulberry/Pleasant View

Nemo Vista

Nettleton

Norfork

North Little Rock

Osceola

Ouachita*

Ouachita River

Ozark

Palestine/Wheatley

Paragould

Paris*

Parkers Chapel

Pea Ridge

Perryville

Pine Bluff

Pocahontas

Pottsville

Prairie Grove*

Pulaski County Special

Quitman*

Rector

Rivercrest

Riverview

Rogers

Russellville*

Scranton

Searcy

Sheridan

Shirley

Siloam Springs

Smackover

South Conway County*

South Side

Southside

Springdale

Star City

Strong-Huttig

Stuttgart

Trumann

Two Rivers

Valley View

Van Buren

Vilonia

Waldron*

Warren*

Watson Chapel**

West Fork

West Memphis

West Side

Western Yell County

Westside

Westside Consolidated

White County Central**

White Hall

Wonderview

Woodlawn*

Wynne

Yellville-Summit

The following 32 districts were in the red or purple zone a week earlier but have dropped below that level this week:

Armorel

Ashdown

Bald Knob

Blytheville

Buffalo Island Central

Caddo Hills

Calico Rock

Concord

Crossett

Decatur

Foreman

Gravette

Hillcrest

Hoxie

Jasper

Junction City

Mammoth Spring

Manila

Maynard

Mountain Home

Mountainburg

Omaha

Ozark Mountain

Pangburn

Piggott

Poyen

Prescott

Riverside

Rose Bud

Salem

Sloan-Hendrix

Valley Springs

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.