22 more COVID-19 outbreaks in suburban schools



[ad_1]

Twenty-two new COVID-19 outbreaks occurred in suburban schools last week, the Illinois Department of Public Health reports.

Statewide, the IDPH is reporting 128 school-related outbreaks, up from 81 a week ago.

Outbreaks are defined as two or more cases of COVID-19 linked by a common exposure, which, in the case of schools, can be in classrooms or at sporting events.

The IDPH releases new data on school outbreaks only on Fridays through its COVID-19 statistics website, dph.illinois.gov/covid19. Officials said information about the outbreak may be late in some cases.

“Outbreak information is reported once clusters of cases are confirmed to be linked by location and time, within 14 days,” said IDPH spokesperson Melaney Arnold. “Some outbreaks are awaiting treatment and assessment, and will be added as more complete information becomes available. Information on outbreaks is reported by local health departments to (the state) through a notification system. epidemics. “

In Cook County, there are now 14 schools with identified outbreaks, up from 10 a week ago.

Indian Grove Elementary in Mount Prospect is among four new locations, with the outbreak involving fewer than five of the school’s more than 550 students. The other three foci are located in the extreme southern suburbs.

Eight new outbreaks have been reported in DuPage County. The new outbreaks affected five or fewer cases among staff and students at Churchill Elementary in Glen Ellyn, Calvary Christian in Naperville, Glenn Westlake Middle School in Lombard, North Elementary in Villa Park and St. Francis High School in Wheaton.

Two new outbreaks were reported at Downers Grove South High School and involved classroom exposure which led to five or fewer cases among students in those classes. Downers Grove South reported an outbreak last week attributed to a sporting event. More than 2,700 students attend the lycée.

Marklund Day School, a special education school in Bloomingdale, has also reported an outbreak of five to 10 cases involving students and staff.

According to the IDPH, four new outbreaks were reported in schools in Kane County this week. There have been 11 to 16 cases involving students at Hampshire High School, less than five cases among staff and students at the Illinois Academy of Mathematics and Sciences in Aurora, less than five cases in Kaneland High School in Maple Park and less than five cases among students at Willard Elementary School. in South Elgin.

Six other schools in Kane County had previously reported outbreaks.

In McHenry County, three new outbreaks have been reported. Five to 10 cases have been reported following an outbreak among students at Chauncey Duker Elementary School in McHenry. Edgebrook Elementary in McHenry has reported fewer than five cases among staff members. Hannah Beardsley Middle School in Crystal Lake reports a second outbreak among five to 10 students.

In addition to the previous outbreak reported in Beardsley, three other outbreaks had been reported in schools in McHenry County.

In Will County, three other schools have reported outbreaks. A week ago, eight schools in Will County were managing outbreaks. The new epidemics are occurring in schools in Plainfield, Mokena and New Lenox.

In addition, a Christian school in Hoffman Estates with an enrollment of just over 100 students has had its state recognition status revoked for non-compliance with the state mask mandate, according to the Council of l Illinois State Education.

The loss of ISBE recognition means that students will not be eligible to participate in IHSA sports or the Invest in Kids Act scholarship program, among other consequences.

A letter of non-compliance was sent to administrators at Valeo Academy on Wednesday, according to ISBE records. School officials did not immediately respond to calls.

Currently in the suburbs, Bethany Lutheran School in Naperville and Christian Liberty Academy in Arlington Heights are not recognized by the State Council due to non-compliance with the state’s indoor mask mandate in schools .



[ad_2]

Source link