Statewide reports on covid-19 in schools no longer include totals from colleges and universities, a state Department of Health spokeswoman said.
The change to the twice-weekly reports took effect Thursdaybut the state requirement for colleges to report all cases ended earlier this month, according to college officials and state Health Department spokeswoman Danyelle McNeill.
State educational institution reports continue to list covid-19 cases at K-12 schools.
"The system for reporting of cases by colleges was set up to aid in timely contact tracing on campuses. Since the ADH is no longer doing contact tracing, there is no need for this reporting," McNeill said in an email.
Colleges that test for covid-19 on campus still must report those test results to the state, as do all testing sites, she added.
Not all colleges do much covid-19 testing on campus, however, and even those that do also have students, faculty and staff reporting in positive test results done off campus or at home -- information that colleges are not currently required to share with the state.
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McNeill said the state on Jan. 18 suspended most covid-19 contract tracing due to a lack of "capacity," though covid-19 contact tracing investigations continue for those 18 years old and younger.
Colleges received a "heads up" on Jan. 7 that state-run contact tracing would mostly end, McNeill said.
COLLEGE WEBSITES
While the Health Department's reports on educational institutions tracked statewide totals in addition to cases at individual campuses, they weren't the only data source for campus covid-19 case counts.
Colleges in Arkansas continue to publish covid-19 case information on their websites as they have done throughout the pandemic.
They do so with varying frequency, however, and campuses may also differ in how they define an "active" covid-19 case.
Many, though not all, have changed their definition to align with a shortened covid-19 isolation period recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Because the university does not have access to information regarding when individuals may have started to experience symptoms, an active case drops off the university's list 6 days after the test date, to align with the updated isolation guidance from the CDC," Mark Rushing, a UA-Fayetteville spokesman, said in an email.
This differs from the state Health Department, which has kept its definition of "active" cases unchanged while reporting on covid-19 cases in schools despite the new CDC recommendations, McNeill said last week.
The previous minimum isolation period of 10 days has been shorted to a minimum five days of isolation for the general public, according to CDC guidance published Dec. 27.
Several large universities now tell students, faculty and staff that they may break their isolation after five days so long as they are fever-free for 24 hours without medication and also have resolving symptoms.
The CDC's recommendation also stated that those breaking isolation after five days should wear masks when around others. General indoor masking requirements that apply to everyone on campus are in place at the state's largest public universities and several others.
At the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, totals of covid-19 cases are updated weekly and reported on the college's website, spokeswoman Rachel Putman said. The university has "no plans to stop reporting during the Spring semester," she said in an email.
When it comes to published case counts, "at UAFS, cases are considered active for 10 days," Putman said. The university has adopted the minimum five days of isolation for those with covid-19, however.
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock updates covid-19 case information three times weekly on its website and also bases its definition of active cases on a 10-day window from either the onset of symptoms or date of a positive test, spokeswoman Angie Faller said.
Putman, with UAFS, noted the limitations of universities in tracking how long a case of covid-19 might truly be active.
"If an individual makes us aware that they are continuing to experience symptoms after day 10 we do not remove them from the active COVID case list. However, we are often unaware whether or not individuals (students, in particular) are experiencing symptoms, unless they explicitly inform us," Putman said.
The Health Department, in putting together its case count reports, has been able to track cases that result in hospitalization or death, McNeill has said.
Bill Smith, an Arkansas State University spokesman, said the university is continuing to publish case counts.
Similar to other universities, ASU is also continuing to require faculty, students and staff who test for covid-19 off-campus to report a positive test result to the university.
"A member of our Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT) is continuing to follow up with positive cases. We are continuing to maintain an active dashboard of positive cases for our community," Smith said in an email.
At Arkansas Tech University, "there has been no discussion regarding ceasing case counts at this time," spokesman Sam Strasner said in an email.
Rushing, with UA-Fayetteville, said in a text message that the university "is still updating our campus dashboard at this time, but like everything during the pandemic, we will continue to assess that moving forward."