:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/GURPRXO2IZOGD52LK7KVH4OMR4.jpg)
One person at Lundahl Middle School, part of Crystal Lake Elementary School District 47, tested positive for COVID-19, the principal said in an email sent to families.
The email did not indicate whether the positive case was a student or staff member. An attempt to reach a district spokesperson Tuesday was unsuccessful.
District 47 switched to a hybrid learning schedule earlier this month, after starting the school year remotely because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lundahl Middle School will remain open, Principal Angie Compere said in the email. Those who had close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 will be advised to quarantine at home and monitor their symptoms for 14 days.
In this case, “close contact” refers to those who were within 6 feet of the COVID-19 positive person for 15 minutes or more.
Areas of the school that have been accessed by the infected person have been closed off and currently are being deep cleaned and disinfected, per guidelines provided by the Illinois Department of Public Health, Compere said in the email.
District 47 is working with the McHenry County Department of Health to identify and monitor those who have had recent close contact with the positive COVID-19 person.
Compere said if a student was identified as a close contact, their family will be notified directly by the school in collaboration with the local health department.
"Our top priority is the health and safety of our students and staff,” Compere said in the email. “Through collaboration and coordination with the McHenry County health department, we will continue to provide any additional information regarding potential COVID-19 exposure to the school community, while also maintaining employee and student confidentiality as required by state and federal law.”
District 47 has reported two new confirmed positive COVID-19 cases among District 47 staff and students as of Oct. 9 on an online dashboard showing the number of new positive cases by week. On Oct. 2, there also were two new positive cases, and on Sept. 25 there was one new positive case.
Like other area school districts, District 47 is using countywide metrics developed by the McHenry County Department of Health to help guide it as it transitions to hybrid learning.
Fully in-person instruction can be considered when the incidence rate falls below 7 per 100,000, test positivity drops below 5%, hospitalizations are decreasing and the number of new cases also is decreasing.
The McHenry County health department recommends that schools remain in a learning model for at least 14 days with all thresholds met before transitioning to the next learning model.
An outbreak in a school as defined by the McHenry County health department is two confirmed cases of COVID-19 infections happening within 14 calendar days of each other in individuals in the same classroom, team or club.
Other districts in the area have similar dashboards, including Huntley School District 158 and Marengo Union Elementary School District 156.
At Huntley, a total of 14 people have had positive tests in the last 14 days, with 11 of them being at Huntley High School. District 156, from Sept. 28 through Oct. 2, had two reported cases.