Coronavirus infection rates for the first time reached a threshold of "uncontrolled" spread within the distinct geographic boundaries of every school district in the state, said Dr. Joe Thompson, president and CEO of the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement, in a statement Thursday.
Data tracked by the nonprofit organization is not specific to students, but rather shows infection rates for residents within the distinct boundaries of 234 school districts.
Each district as of Monday had 50 or more new coronavirus infections per 10,000 residents over the previous 14 days, up from last week when 226 districts had at least that high of a rate, according to the center's analysis of state Department of Health data.
The center publishes online a color-coded map to highlight rates of infection within district boundaries.
"Every school district being in red, purple, or pink on our map means that covid-19 is spreading uncontrolled in all our communities," Thompson said. "In nearly three-fourths of the districts, at least 2% of the local population is infected."
Based on the center's analysis, four districts had more than 5% of the local population recently infected with covid-19: the Brookland district, located just northeast of Jonesboro; the Clarendon district, roughly 70 miles east of Little Rock; the Marmaduke district, about 30 miles northeast of Jonesboro; and the Stuttgart district, roughly 50 miles southeast of Little Rock.
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"I just know that people are still trying to get to work," Terry McNatt, president of the Brookland School District's board, said in a phone interview Thursday.
McNatt, county treasurer for Craighead County, said "so many" have had to work remotely from home.
He said he did not know anyone seriously ill from covid-19 during this surge.
Statewide, however, covid-19 hospitalizations have hit record levels.
About "normal, everyday life," McNatt said "it doesn't seem like anything's out of the ordinary."
A morning report for the Brookland School District listed 13 students as currently positive with covid-19, he said, with one junior high student considered to be showing symptoms. That works out to be less than 0.5% of the district's total enrollment of about 2,800 students.
Since the school started again after the winter break, McNatt said the district has used one Alternative Methods of Instruction day rather than meet in-person.
Taking that day allowed some people to quarantine because of covid-19, but the day also was used because of winter weather, McNatt said.
"Just to me, I feel like the reports are showing the numbers going down," McNatt said.
The district's current stance is to encourage but not require face coverings, he said.
"We've been through all phases of that," McNatt said. The district's plan states that masking becomes a requirement if 10% of K-12 students or 10% of staff in a building must quarantine for any reason, according to an August letter.
Teachers out because of quarantine can affect the district, especially with a shortage of substitutes, McNatt said.
He noted that the nearby Greene County Tech School District this week announced Alternative Methods of Instruction days. The Greene County Tech High School's Facebook page stated that the shift for Thursday and today was "because of staffing shortages due to illness."
"I think it's one of those things, every day you get up and look at the numbers," McNatt said. "It's day-by-day right now. You take it every day, one day at a time."
Additional information is available at https://achi.net/covid19/.