PEARCY -- After a continuous surge in active positive COVID-19 cases over the past few weeks due to the spread of the omicron variant, the Lake Hamilton School District is now reporting a decline in cases.
The district, which updates its case count on a weekly basis, reported a total of 149 new cases among students and 33 among staff, for the week ending Jan. 21, with a current active case count of 128 students and 27 staff. There were a reported 235 students and six staff members in quarantine at the end of the school week.
Although numbers for this week were not yet available, Lake Hamilton School Superintendent Shawn Higginbotham said he felt optimistic Tuesday.
"The COVID-19 pandemic has presented many challenges over the past two years. I am proud of our staff and students for monitoring and adjusting to each of the challenges presented. We are currently experiencing a downturn in cases and are hopeful this trend continues," he said.
The district used two Alternative Methods of Instruction days earlier this semester because of staffing shortages in the classroom, cafeteria and transportation department.
"Since returning from the AMI days, staff and student attendance has improved each day," he said. "We believe that the best place for students to learn is on-site in the classroom. Although staffing continues to be a challenge, we have managed to utilize staff in various positions to cover any vacancies that arise. I appreciate all of our employees that continue to go above and beyond to serve the students and families of Lake Hamilton."
Higginbotham noted employee attendance has improved each day since returning to campus after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Jan. 18. While there are fewer cases among employees, the "strain remains on our pool of substitute teachers, cafeteria workers, and bus drivers," he said.
The district will continue to fill the vacancies with other personnel when substitutes are not available, he said.
As of Wednesday morning, the Fountain Lake School District reported eight active student cases and one staff, while 34 students and two staff members were quarantined. Lakeside reported 38 students and eight staff members as active with 50 students and three staff in quarantine. Hot Springs reported 22 students as active and 17 staff members, while Jessieville reported 33 students and 12 staff members active, with 32 students and three staff members quarantined.
According to a news release regarding Monday's weekly meeting of the Hot Springs/Garland County COVID-19 Task Force, at of the end of last week, Cutter Morning Star had 16 active student cases and one staff, with 11 students in quarantine, while Mountain Pine reported more than 50 active student cases and, since Jan. 3, 32 positive staff cases.
Garland County Health Officer Dr. Gene Shelby reported 1,011 new cases from the past week, the release stated, which was down from 1,338 in the previous week. Though the positivity rate for the county reached an all-time high of 32.3%, active cases fell by 173 from the previous week to 1,679.
Hospital representatives from CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs and National Park Medical Center reported an increase in COVID patients, up from 50 on Jan. 10, to 80 as of the meeting, with a total of 19 in intensive care.
They noted vaccinations are still keeping people from extreme cases of the virus.