SCHOOLS, universities see rise in covid cases.

LITTLE ROCK — An uptick of covid-19 in public school districts since Thursday raised active case totals to 446 as of Monday, about a 4% increase over a four-day period, according to the state Department of Health.

Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia saw a doubling of its active covid-19 cases to 28 over the same four-day period.

But active cases statewide among students and staff in public schools remain well below a mid-January peak of more than 3,400 cases statewide, with college cases also far below case counts from earlier in the year.

The state Department of Health publishes reports twice weekly on active cases at schools and colleges.

The 446 active cases in public schools as of Monday increased from the 429 case total listed in Thursday’s report.

Among colleges, the total increased to 179 as of Monday, up from the 155 active cases listed in the report Thursday.

Three public school districts in Northwest Arkansas topped all others in terms of active cases.

The Monday report listed Bentonville School District as having 34 active cases, up three from Thursday.

The Springdale School District was listed as having 20 active cases, down five from Thursday.

The report listed the Rogers School District as having 18 active cases, down six from Thursday.

The Little Rock School District on its website listed five cases of covid-19 identified since 3 p.m. Friday, all among students. Based on state Department of Health data, the Little Rock School District had 10 active cases among students and staff Monday.

Among all public school districts in Arkansas, since June 15 there has been a total of 41,995 cumulative cases of covid-19. The total includes 28,174 student cases and 11,560 staff cases, with some additional cases included in the cumulative total.

The University of Arkansas topped all colleges with 34 active cases, up one from Thursday, followed by Southern Arkansas’ total of 28 active cases.

The Southern Arkansas website differed from the state tally Monday, listing a total of 21 active cases, including 20 student cases.

Six individuals were in on-campus isolation because of an active case and four in on-campus quarantine because of exposure, according to data on SAU’s website Monday.

Among all colleges and universities in the state, cumulative student totals since June 15 were 10,054 as of Monday, surpassing the 10,000 mark. This fall, colleges and universities in the state enrolled about 133,000 students, according the state Division of Higher Education.