At public schools, active covid cases drop 9% in 4 days
Active cases of covid-19 at public schools in the state dropped by about 9% over a four-day period that ended Monday, according to a report from the state Department of Health.
After a brief period of increasing infections among public school students and staff, the latest report puts the number of active cases at just below the level seen seven days earlier.
The case count at public schools fell to 2,701, according to Monday’s report, down from 2,977 active cases as of a report released Thursday. Each week, the Health Department releases two reports on active covid-19 cases at educational institutions.
On Monday of last week, there were 2,723 active cases at public schools, according to the state Department of Health.
The number of covid-19 infections and associated exposures continue to disrupt instruction at some schools around the state.
Gibbs Magnet Elementary and Parkview Magnet High in the Little Rock School District and Harris and College Station elementaries in the Pulaski County Special School District are having remote instruction for the week, the districts announced Monday.
The temporary transitions
are the result of covid-19 cases or quarantined individuals who show symptoms or have been exposed to the virus. The Little Rock School District last Thursday announced a shift for Parkview High.
In the entire month of January, the Little Rock district reported 255 students and 132 employees who tested positive for covid and a total of 1,720 students and staff quarantined for exposure or symptoms.
The Little Rock district also reports covid-19 cases and quarantines on a daily basis on its website, and it reported 16 positive cases and 63 quarantined individuals districtwide in the 24-hour period between 3 p.m. Sunday and 3 p.m. Monday. Those included three positive cases and four quarantines among employees and students at Parkview. There was one person with covid and one person quarantined from Gibbs in that 24-hour period.
In the Pulaski County Special district, Harris and College Station elementary schools have experienced an increasing number of students and staff needing to quarantine as the result of probable close contacts to people with covid-19, district spokeswoman Jessica Duff said. For that reason, both schools will pivot to virtual instruction for all pupils for the remainder of this week. District administrators will meet on Friday to determine if the pivot would need to be extended.
Among other schools making changes, Watson Chapel Junior High School in Pine Bluff will shift to virtual instruction for all students this week, Superintendent Jerry Guess announced Monday in a post on social media. The campus has “several students and teachers that must be quarantined,” Guess said.
Ashdown Elementary School began a switch to virtual instruction Monday that will continue throughout the week, according to a social media post by Ashdown Public Schools.
“While Ashdown Elementary only has a few Covid 19 positive cases, a large number of staff must quarantine,” the post, dated Sunday, states.
Ellen Smith Elementary School in Conway will continue all this week with virtual instruction after shifting away from in-person classes on Thursday, according to social media posts from the school. In a social media post dated Sunday, the school stated that “we have continued to see an increase” in covid-19 cases and quarantines due to exposure to the coronavirus.
Pine Haven Elementary School in Bauxite has shifted to virtual instruction for all of this week, according to a social media post by Bauxite Public Schools published Saturday.
The Health Department report Monday listed three school districts in northwest Arkansas as having the most active infections.
Springdale School District topped all other districts with 132 active cases, down from the 137 active cases reported Thursday.
The Rogers School District had the second-most active cases with 128, down from 133 as of Thursday. It was followed by the Bentonville School District with 111 active cases, down from 113 as of Thursday.
Active cases at colleges and universities in the state increased to 612 as of Monday from the 589 total listed in Thursday’s report.
The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville topped all colleges with 134 active cases, up from 116 as listed in Thursday’s report.
The University of Central Arkansas had the second-highest active case total, with 41 infections at the Conway campus. the same number as last Thursday. Ouachita Baptist University had the third-highest total with 37 active cases, down from 42 in last Thursday’s report.