Covid, weather force districts to move online
ADH reports 157 more virus cases diagnosed in county since Monday
School districts in St. Francis County have moved to virtual platforms for the remainder of this week due to the increasing numbers of Covid cases, along with the threat of inclement weather.
Schools are currently scheduled to resume classes on Monday, Jan. 10.
The Arkansas Center for Health Improvement (ACHI) website shows that St. Francis County, like much of the state, is seeing the numbers of new Covid cases increasing.
The website does not provide specific data for local school districts in this area, but school officials this week said they are seeing an increase in the numbers of students and staff infected with the virus.
In Arkansas, according to the ACHI, SFC is one of 12 counties in which the rate of new infections over the past 14 days has increased by more than 100. Crittenden and Phillips counties are also in that category. The daily active cases per 1,000 individuals in SFC is 14.49%, according to the ACHI.
The Arkansas Department of Health website shows that since Monday, 206 people had been tested for the virus, with 157 new cases added to the county’s total, bringing it to 5,388 cases since the pandemic began.
An additional 35 people in SFC have been added to the recovered list since Monday, and no new deaths caused by Covid have been reported for the county this week.
The forecast is calling for light snow accumulations along and north of Interstate 40. Areas south of the interstate were expected to see a wintry mix and light icing, although snow began falling about midmorning throughout Forrest City.
There were no local travel problems early this morning, as roadways in Forrest City had not iced over and most were just wet from the overnight precipitation. However, as the temperatures fall throughout the day, the ground will get colder, allowing for more of the wintry mix to stick.
The National Weather Service in Memphis has issued both a hazardous weather outlook and a winter weather advisory for Eastern Arkansas, along with western portions of Tennessee and northern portions Mississippi. The winter weather advisory remains in effect until 6 this evening as mixed precipitation is expected. According to the NWS, total snow and sleet accumulations of up to one inch and ice accumulations up to a tenth of an inch are forecast for the region.
Cannon Callicott, ARDot District 1 Engineer, said highway crews began pretreating roads and bridges overnight and are ready to respond to weather conditions as they unfold.