SCHOOL DISTRICTS report new covid-19 cases.

FAYETTEVILLE — The four largest school districts in Northwest Arkansas reported 54 new covid-19 cases among students, staff and faculty within the past week.

Rogers Public Schools has had 55 cumulative cases, an increase of 18 from the past week, and had 292 people in quarantine as of Friday, according to the district’s website.

The Springdale district has had 53 cases, an increase of 14, according to the district’s website.

The districts’ data include students, staff and faculty.

Bentonville’s School District had 37 cumulative covid-19 cases, an increase of 11 within a week, according to the district’s website. The district had 221 students and 20 faculty or staff members who were quarantined and unable to attend school.

The Fayetteville district has had 21 students and five staff or faculty members test positive for the virus. That’s nine more students and two more staff or faculty member within the past week.

Forty-two staff and/or faculty and 81 students were in quarantine as of Friday, according to the district’s website.

Washington County had a cumulative 8,697 cases, including 591 active cases as of 6:30 p.m. Friday, according to the Arkansas Department of Health.

Benton County had a cumulative 6,086 cases, including 262 active cases, as of 6:30 p.m. Friday, according to the Health Department.

A total of 71,775 covid-19 have been done among Benton County residents, while a total of 76,352 tests have been done among Washington County residents, according to the department.

Hospitals in Benton and Washington counties had 35 patients in covid-19 units as of Tuesday, the latest day data was available from the region’s largest health care organizations by Martine Pollard, a spokeswoman at Mercy Health System. The region had 27 patients in its covid-19 units Sept. 11.

Eighteen patients in the region were on ventilators. The number includes patients with and without covid-19, according to the statement.

State officials frequently remind residents anyone can get tested at the Benton or Washington county health units.

Most other testing sites in Northwest Arkansas have been prioritizing people who have covid-19 symptoms amid concerns about the availability of testing material since early July, according to a joint statement from Arkansas Children’s Northwest, Community Clinic, Mercy Northwest Arkansas, Northwest Health, UAMS Northwest, Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks and Washington Regional Medical Center.

Community Clinic, which has three coronavirus screening sites in Northwest Arkansas, collected 17,861 specimens from people from March 30 through Thursday, according to Abbie Luzius, community development manager for Community Clinic. Patients are encouraged, but not required, to call before coming to a clinic.

The state Health Department began testing May 18 at county health units. The Washington County health units collected 15,869 specimens, and the Benton County health units collected 5,568 as of Thursday, according to the department. The data includes mass testing events conducted by the health units.

Washington Regional Health System collected 17,214 specimens to be tested from people from March 16 through Thursday at its screening clinics, according to Natalie, spokeswoman. Patients are encouraged, but not required, to call before going to the clinics. The data does not include specimens collected at Washington Regional’s urgent care clinics throughout the region.

Specimens to be tested for covid-19 are collected via nasal and mouth swabs.