Start date for 2020-21 school year delayed almost 2 weeks, governor says

Arkansas Education Secretary Johnny Key speaks to reporters at the state Capitol in Little Rock in this still of video provided by the governor's office.
Arkansas Education Secretary Johnny Key speaks to reporters at the state Capitol in Little Rock in this still of video provided by the governor's office.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Thursday that the start date for K-12 education in Arkansas is being moved back to allow districts extra time to prepare for on-campus learning amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Hutchinson also said Arkansas recorded 806 new covid-19 cases Thursday, the second-highest daily increase since the outbreak began.

Schools must now start the school year between Aug. 24-26, Hutchinson said, instead of the Aug. 13 most had planned for.

Arkansas Education Secretary Johnny Key said this will allow schools more time to develop plans and teacher training, as well as acquire personal protective equipment and technology.

Key said the change in start date doesn’t modify the number of days in the school year nor change the number of days for which teachers are contracted. He noted that he still expected the school year to end in late May or early June, but added that it depends on the district and on other factors.

Of the 806 new cases, Arkansas Health Secretary Dr. Nate Smith said 110 are in correctional facilities.

The total number of active cases as of Thursday was 5,751, including 131 in nursing homes, 444 in correctional facilities and 5,176 in the general population.

The state saw 36 new hospitalizations, a record single-day increase, for a total of 394, Smith said. The number of patients on a ventilator increased by three to 82.

Four more people have died of the virus, raising the toll to 309.

Smith said 596 more people have recovered, making the total so far 19,992.

He said 4,734 tests were performed in the previous day and attributed the lower figure, compared to recent weeks, in part to backlogs at commercial laboratories and the difficulty in getting supplies needed for tests as cases surge nationwide.

The counties with the highest numbers of new cases were Pulaski with 104, Washington with 78, Sebastian with 56, Faulkner with 51 and Benton with 49.

2:35 p.m.: WATCH: Governor, state health officials give 2:30 p.m. virus update

Gov. Asa Hutchinson and state health officials will provide an update on Arkansas' covid-19 response at 2:30 p.m.

The total number of coronavirus cases reported in Arkansas remained at 25,246 Thursday morning, according to a state website. The death toll remained at 305.

Check back to watch the live video.

[Video not showing up above? Click here to view » https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rrzU1zVtuc]

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