129 Evanston Township High School Students Have Reported New COVID-19 Cases This Week

EVANSTON, IL — The coronavirus outbreak at Evanston Township High School has led to the detection of at least 140 new cases in the school community this week.

The 129 students and 11 staff members to notify district officials that they have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus since Dec. 10 marks an increase of more than 480 percent compared to the prior week, according to the district's dashboard of self-reported cases.

As of Friday, there were 13 staff members and 143 students in quarantine. The newly reported cases were not necessarily contracted on campus.

The updated figures come a day after Superintendent Eric Witherspoon announced that in-person learning would be suspended until after winter break due to multiple outbreaks at the school.

"ETHS will continue to evaluate our response strategies on a daily basis in partnership with the Evanston Health Department through the entirety of the Adaptive Pause," Witherspoon said in a statement.

The adaptive pause followed the cancellation of all non-instructional events or activities earlier this week.

At the time, administrators said a remote learning option was not available — despite the fact that more students had reported testing positive for the coronavirus in the first two days of the week than the entire prior school year combined.

The superintendent said he made the decision following consultation with the city's Health and Human Services Department.

The move to e-learning was announced shortly after the school was locked down for several hours after police found two guns on campus, although Witherspoon did not specify whether they were related.

ETHS's winter break runs through Jan. 10. On-campus COVID-19 testing is scheduled to resume on Jan. 11.

Earlier: ETHS COVID-19 Outbreak Prompts Shift To E-Learning Until January