COVID-19 outbreaks identified at Prairie Ridge High School in Crystal Lake, Valley View Elementary School in McHenry

Outbreaks at two schools, one in McHenry Elementary School District 15 and the other at Crystal Lake-based Community High School District 155, were identified by state and local health departments this month.

Crystal Lake’s Prairie Ridge High School had a COVID-19 outbreak but is “is safe to continue in-person learning,” a district spokeswoman Alex LeMoine said in an email.

The outbreak at Prairie Ridge is the only one listed by the Illinois Department of Public Health in McHenry County schools as of April 16, according to its website. The outbreak was said to involve five to 10 cases and is the result of non-sports activities.

However, the McHenry County Department of Health identified an additional outbreak of COVID-19 involving McHenry’s Valley View Elementary School, according to a letter to families from Principal Amanda Cohn sent April 16. The outbreak was tied to a school bus.

“All those considered a close contact have already been notified separately through both phone and email communications with specific instructions for isolation and/or quarantine as per Illinois Department of Public Health COVID-19 Interim Exclusion Guidance,” Cohn said in the letter.

For schools, the IDPH defines an outbreak as those that have been identified by the local health department to have five or more COVID-19 cases, who may have a shared exposure on school grounds and are from different households.

While an outbreak can include those associated with before and after school programs, these outbreaks do not include secondary cases that can occur in a household member who has not been on school grounds.

The McHenry County Department of Health notified Prairie Ridge High School on Wednesday that they confirmed an outbreak at the school, LeMoine said in an email.

All individuals affected by the outbreak have been identified and placed in quarantine and isolation, LeMoine said.

“The McHenry County Department of Health completed their investigation into these positive cases over spring break and has since completed the necessary process of contact tracing,” LeMoine said. “We want to emphasize that Prairie Ridge High School is safe to continue in-person learning. We will continue to respond to guidance from the McHenry County Department of Health and follow district protocols to prevent, promptly identify, and respond to potential COVID-19 cases, consistent with state and local guidelines.”

According to District 155′s COVID-19 dashboard, 23 COVID-19 positive cases are active in the district as of Wednesday along with 254 students quarantining or isolating.

For staff, no COVID-19 cases are active, and two staff members are quarantining or isolating, the dashboard shows.

At Prairie Ridge, five students have active cases of COVID-19 out of 81 total since the beginning of the school year. In addition, 85 students are currently quarantining or in isolation.

Since the beginning of the school year, districtwide, students have experienced a total of 333 positive COVID-19 cases, while staff has a total of 88. The district enrolls 5,673 students and has a staff of 712.

At Valley View Elementary, 17 active COVID-19 positive cases have been identified, according to District 15′s COVID-19 dashboard, and 210 students are being quarantined or isolated. No COVID-19 cases are active among staff, and four staff currently are in quarantine or isolation.

District 15 in total has 26 active COVID-19 cases and 528 students quarantining or isolating, out of 4,092 students total. Of the 814 staff members, two are active positive cases and 17 are actively quarantining or isolating as of Thursday afternoon.

“There are a multitude of factors that impact why a particular school may experience more positive cases and quarantining,” Deputy Superintendent Josh Reitz said in an emailed statement. “As a school district, we want nothing more than for children to be in school and that is certainly impacted when students have to be placed in isolation or quarantine. However, in our current learning model, students are able to quickly move from in-person learning to remote learning via live streaming with their teacher.”

District 15 is in frequent contact with the health department, Superintendent Alan Hoffman said in an emailed statement.

“It is certainly challenging to pinpoint the extent to which positive cases and quarantining are connected due to the complexity of contact tracing and determining the origins of the positive cases,” Hoffman said. “The district and health department continue to investigate.”

A “strong and knowledgable” team of school nurses has been instrumental in helping the overall school community, said Amy Wuerger, District 15′s director of health services.

“As always the health and safety of our staff and students continue to be our top priority,” Wuerger said.