Gov. Asa Hutchinson is expected to make an announcement Monday about the future of the remaining school year in Arkansas.
After initially closing schools for two weeks on March 15 (one of which being spring break), Hutchinson quickly readjusted and extended that statewide school closure to April 17, a precautionary response to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Arkansas.
On the heels of President Donald Trump’s announcement this week that federal social distancing guidelines would remain until April 30, Hutchinson could soon extend Arkansas’ school closure to at least that date.
In an interview with Roby Brock, part of which aired on KATV Saturday morning, the governor was asked of his plans to make such an extension.
“We intend to make an announcement on Monday as to what’s ahead,” Hutchinson said, noting that he and the department of education secretary, Johnny Key, had recently met to discuss the subject. “[Key] wants to put some plans together as to exactly how we address that in our schools. Obviously, you’re not going to reopen the schools whenever you’re continuing to go up in your cases, but we also want to make sure that to we have all of our facts together before we make a final decision next Monday.”
Hutchinson and Key will address the state of Arkansas with their decision at the governor’s daily press conference on Monday, April 6.
As of Saturday morning, 738 Arkansans have tested positive for COVID-19.