ARKANSAS, USA — College students are coming back to school by the thousands this week, moving into dorms and campus apartments before classes start.
And of course, the COVID-19 pandemic raises lots of concerns about these incoming students since many of them come from out-of-state.
One question is if students from other states test positive for COVID-19 once school starts, will that count as an Arkansas case, or a case from that student's home state?
According to our sources Gov. Asa Hutchinson and the Arkansas Department of Health, it all comes down to timing.
"For college students coming from out of state – if the student tests positive for COVID in the first two weeks of being in Arkansas, then that number will be attributed to their home state," the ADH said in a statement.
"After two weeks, a confirmed positive test will count toward Arkansas numbers."
For students attending school in-state, but in a different county from where they live, the health department says positive tests will count toward the county of the school.
So when it comes to reporting COVID-19 cases at state colleges, we can verify if the positive student has been here more than two weeks, it counts as an Arkansas case.