coronavirus illinois

Suburban 4th Grader Tests Positive for COVID-19, School District Says

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A north suburban school district announced Wednesday that a 4th grade student has tested positive for COVID-19.

North Shore School District 112 said in an email to parents that the student at Oak Terrace Elementary School tested positive on Wednesday. That student has not been in attendance at school since Sept. 18 and is in isolation, officials said.

The school said it is working on contact tracing with the Lake County Health Department, which will contact the student directly and notify any close contacts.

"If you do not receive communication from school administration or the Lake County Health Department, your student has not been identified as a close contact and can continue to attend school," the email from Assistant Supt. Holly Colin reads.

Colin noted that federal privacy laws prevented the school from sharing the name of the student or any information that may lead to the child's identification. The email also warned the school community to be aware of scams, saying contact tracers won't ask for a social security number or any form of payment.

"Given the spread of COVID-19 in Lake County, we should not be surprised when presumed positive or positive test results are identified within our community," the letter says. "It may continue to occur, and this is a major reason why mitigation strategies such as maintaining social distance, masking and hand washing are all still very important."

Health officials in Illinois on Wednesday reported 1,848 new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours, along with 22 additional deaths attributed to the virus.

According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, Wednesday's new cases of the virus brings the statewide total to 279,114 confirmed cases since the pandemic began. The 22 additional deaths bring the statewide death toll to 8,508 fatalities attributed to the virus.

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