District 70 Resumes In-Person Classes Monday

LIBERTYVILLE, IL — District 70 is set to return for in-person classes on Monday. As COVID-19 cases continue to spike in the area, school officials are urging parents to call the nurse at their child's school to report if their child tested positive over winter break or was identified as a close contact to someone who tested positive.

District 70 parents are also being urged to keep their children home if they are showing any symptoms of COVID-19 until results from a rapid antigen and PCR test comes back negative, District 70 Superintendent Matt Barbani wrote in a letter to parents Thursday.

Remote instruction is being offered for students who must self-isolate because they have COVID-19 or are awaiting test results. In addition, District 70 is currently planning to continue to offer extracurricular activities.

"If a sport or activity experiences several positive cases, we will work with the Lake County Health Department (LCHD) to respond and may have to initiate a temporary pause of the sport, team, or activity," Barbini wrote.

Barbini also urged those who haven't already been vaccinated to do so.

"Keeping schools fully open for in-person learning, and doing so safely, continues to be our primary goal," he said.

At schools, students and staff who test positive for the virus are required to isolate for 10 days — guidance that remains the same despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recent recommendation to shorten isolation time to five days for the general public.

MORE ON PATCH

• COVID-19 Tests In Short Supply: How To Find One In Illinois
• Flu Making A Comeback In Illinois Amid COVID-19 Surge
• Beware Of 'Pop-Up' COVID-19 Testing Sites: IL Health Officials
• Long Lines In Bitter Cold At Lake Co. Testing Site Monday
• 25% Of Pediatric COVID Patients Are In ICU: IL Advocate Doctors