UPDATED: Prairie Grove District 46 returns to remote learning after staff member tests positive for COVID-19

Prairie Grove School District 46 has returned to full remote learning effective Wednesday after reporting that a staff member tested positive for COVID-19.

Superintendent Dr. John Bute sent an email to district staff and families Monday notifying them of the positive case and stating that officials had begun the contact tracing process.

In a second letter sent out Tuesday, Bute said the staff member who tested positive had "multiple close contacts, all of which are employees."

The number of impacted staff members led the district to return to full remote learning beginning Wednesday and running through Oct. 30, according to the letter. The district aims to resume its hybrid learning model on Nov. 2.

"We understand the importance of giving our students a safe environment to learn in-person and do not want to jeopardize that opportunity," Bute said in the letter.

When asked by why the staff member had close contact with so many other employees, Bute responded that district staff are still adjusting to social distancing guidelines within the school environment, according to an emailed statement sent Wednesday afternoon.

Moving forward, "[w]e plan to remind and reinforce sensible social distancing requirements to all staff members," Bute wrote in the statement. "Education is a social activity and some degree of interaction is necessary, especially with younger students."

District 46 is working with the McHenry County Department of Health to identify any other close contacts that may need to quarantine themselves and those people will be notified individually, according to the letter.

District 46 moved to a hybrid learning model for pre-K through second grade students on Oct. 13. The district was planning to bring third and fourth grade students back on Monday, Oct. 26, and fifth through eighth grade students were to follow on Tuesday, Oct. 27.

The district's older students will no longer come back for hybrid learning next week given the return to full remote learning, Bute said in his statement to the Northwest Herald. He added that the district will likely bring students of all grades back for hybrid learning the week of Nov. 2.

During the remote learning period, the district will disinfect the school building in accordance with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If a student exhibits symptoms of COVID-19 during this period, families are asked to contact the district's health office as well as their primary health care provider, Bute said.

Bute sent a third note to families and staff on Wednesday afternoon outlining contact tracing procedures and providing information on the symptoms of COVID-19, which include fever, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, chills, fatigue, muscle and body aches, headache, sore throat, new loss of taste or smell, congestion or runny nose, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea.