More Than 500 District 203 Students Test Positive For COVID-19

NAPERVILLE, IL — Between Jan. 2 and Jan. 8, more than 500 students had tested positive for coronavirus in the 22 schools that make up Naperville Community Unit School District 203. District officials did not immediately respond to Patch's request for comment Monday.

The most recent data reflects a more than 350 percent increase in positive coronavirus cases compared to the week of Dec. 12 through Dec. 18, before the district's holiday break began.

As of Jan. 10, District 203 is still following quarantine guidance from the Illinois Department of Public Health for students and staff who test positive for coronavirus. In an effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus, students and staff are required to wear masks regardless of vaccination status.

Students and staff are also urged not to come to school if they experience the following symptoms or conditions:

• Fever of 100.4 degrees or higher
• New cough
• Shortness of breath/difficulty breathing
• Fatigue from unknown cause
• Muscle or body ache from unknown cause
• New onset of headache that is moderate to severe
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea

The increase in coronavirus cases and contacts at local schools reflects a nationwide surge in coronavirus cases related to the omicron variant, which is "unlike anything we've ever seen," Dr. James Phillips, chief of disaster medicine at George Washington University Hospital, told CNN in late December.

Related: Illinois Schools Likely Biggest Culprit Of COVID Exposure: IDPH

In early January, Advocate Aurora Hospitals reported that 25 percent of its pediatric coronavirus patients were in the intensive care unit. Throughout the preceding month, half of all children admitted to the hospital system were younger than 5 years old and ineligible to receive the coronavirus vaccine.

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