The deputy director of the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (CUPHD) said the recent positive cases in schools throughout Champaign County were expected.
“In situations when there are others around them, there is always a possibility of a case here and there,” Awais Vaid said.
Five students and three staff members in the Unit 4 School District tested positive over the course of its first week back to in-person learning.
Two schools in the Rantoul City School District have turned to remote learning after COVID-19 issues.
Six teachers tested positive at the Rantoul Township High School, which led to even more contact tracing, forcing the district to go remote this week.
“They are identifying all of the close contacts and putting them in quarantine,” Vaid said. “Then, they pivot and go remote for the remainder of the isolation, which is around 14 days.”
Vaid has warned parents about limiting contact at home to avoid more outbreaks in school.
“Reminded that infections don’t only happen at the school, they can happen at home with parents, family members, with small gatherings, and those could also be brought into the school,” Vaid said.
Unit 4 and Urbana School Districts have discussed returning to i-person learning in 2021, but Vaid warns them of the newest phase of the virus.
“There is a stat metric that pushes adaptive pause in schools, and if a county positivity rate is more than 5%, then the schools should really think hard about their plans,” Vaid said.