St. Clair County high school closes in-person learning after student COVID outbreak

New Athens High School is on an “adaptive pause” after 14 students were confirmed to have COVID-19, District 60 Superintendent Brian Karraker confirmed Friday.

The elementary and junior high schools are still open for in-person learning.

The return to remote learning began Monday. Students are slated to return on Sept. 13.

All of the cases were among students, Karraker said, though some staff had to quarantine due to being a close contact.

Generally, fully vaccinated individuals who are asymptomatic do not have to quarantine. Illinois educators and support staff must have the first dose of the COVID vaccine by Sunday, according to executive order from Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced last week.

Those who don’t get vaccinated will need to be tested at least weekly for COVID-19.

With 156 students enrolled in 2020, New Athens High School is one of the smallest public schools in St. Clair County, according to the Illinois Report Card. The 14 confirmed cases comprise approximately 9% of the student body.

Youth cases have been rising in St. Clair County since July. According to the latest data from the Illinois Department of Public Health, 28% of new cases are in people 21 years or younger and are up more than 25% from the prior week.

Within the county, 46% of people have been fully vaccinated against COVID, according to data from the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Anyone ages 12 and older is eligible for the COVID vaccine, which includes the vast majority of high school students.

Carlyle District 1 last week returned to remote learning after reporting a large increase in the number of students who had tested positive. The IDHP on Tuesday identified at least 26 schools in Illinois with coronavirus outbreaks.

This story was originally published September 3, 2021 at 2:20 PM.