Twenty-two new outbreaks of COVID-19 occurred last week in suburban schools, the Illinois Department of Public Health reports.
Statewide, IDPH reports 128 school-related outbreaks, up from 81 a week ago.
Outbreaks are defined as two or more COVID-19 cases linked through a joint exposure, which in the case of schools may be in classrooms or at sporting events.
IDPH publishes new data on school outbreaks only on Fridays through its statistics website COVID-19, dph.illinois.gov/covid19. Officials said outbreak information may be delayed in some cases.
“Outbreak information is reported once it is confirmed that the case groups are related by location and time, within 14 days,” IDPH spokeswoman Melaney Arnold said. “Some outbreaks are pending processing and evaluation, and will be added as more complete information becomes available. Local health departments report outbreak information to the state through an outbreak reporting system. “.
In Cook County, there are now 14 schools with identified outbreaks, compared to ten a week ago.
Indian Grove Elementary at Mount Prospect is among the four new locations, with the outbreak involving fewer than five of the school’s more than 550 students. The other three outbreaks are on the southern outskirts.
In DuPage County, eight new outbreaks were reported. The new outbreaks involved five or fewer cases among staff and students at Glen Ellyn’s Elementary Churchill School, Naperville’s Calvary Christian, Lombard’s Glenn Westlake High School, Park’s North Villa School and the school St. Francis de Wheaton.
Two new outbreaks were reported at Downers Grove South High School and involved a classroom exposure that resulted in five or fewer cases among students in those classrooms. Downers Grove South had reported an outbreak last week attributed to a sporting event. More than 2,700 students attend the institute.
Marklund Day School, a Bloomingdale special education school, also reported an outbreak of five to ten cases involving students and staff.
Four new outbreaks were reported this week in Kane County schools, according to IDPH. There were 11 to 16 cases involving Hampshire High School students, less than five cases among staff and students at the Aurora Academy of Mathematics and Science, less than five cases at the school Mapeland Park’s Kaneland High School and fewer than five cases among Willard Elementary School students. south of Elgin.
Six more schools in Kane County had previously reported outbreaks.
In McHenry County, three new outbreaks were reported. Five to ten cases of an outbreak were reported among students at McHenry’s Chauncey Duker Elementary School. McHenry’s Edgebrook Elementary School reported fewer than five cases among staff members. Crystal Lake’s Hannah Beardsley Middle School reports a second outbreak of five to ten students.
In addition to the previous outbreak reported in Beardsley, three other outbreaks had been reported in McHenry County schools.
In Will County, three more schools reported outbreaks. One week ago, eight schools in Will County were handling outbreaks. The new outbreaks occur at Plainfield, Mokena and New Lenox schools.
In addition, a Christian school in Hoffman Estates with an enrollment of just over 100 students has revoked its state recognition status for failing to comply with the state’s mask mandate, according to the State Board of Education. ‘Illinois.
Loss of ISBE recognition means that students will not be able to participate in IHSA sports or the Invest in Kids Act scholarship program, among other consequences.
A letter of non-compliance was sent to Valeo Academy administrators on Wednesday, according to ISBE records. School officials did not immediately return the calls.
Currently in the suburbs, the Bethany Lutheran School in Naperville and the Christian Liberty Academy in Arlington Heights are not recognized by the state board due to their non-compliance with the state mandate of covered masks in schools.