Just as schools begin to reopen, many are left with no choice but to close as Covid-19 is spreading in the schools that have reopened. On Wednesday, 69 new deaths and 4,340 new cases have been confirmed over 24 hours.
It took more than six months and countless hours for school officials to come up with a plan to get students back in the classroom. Due to a spike in Covid-19 cases in Illinois, schools are going to have to close again.
“As in the previous week, our pause on in-person learning this week is due to the continued seriousness of the Covid-19 numbers across Illinois and in our community,” said Sally from the Illinois State board of education said.
As noted by the CDC, schools are an essential part of communities and kids learn better with in-person learning. They are trying to come up with ways to have everyone back in school safely such as having everyone wear a face cloth, maintaining a distance of at least six feet from each other, and washing hands often. They have also talked about doing hybrid learning.
“I think everyone realizes that in-person learning is better for students than remote learning, but the problem is, reopening schools is not about the inconvenience, it’s about life and death,” said Timothy Dohrer from the Illinois state board of education.
Schools in Illinois are facing intense pressure from parents to reopen which is putting the schools in a tough spot as Covid-19 cases are continuing to spread.
On Wednesday, Illinois recorded its highest death toll from Covid-19 since June. This brings the total death toll in Illinois to 9,345 since the pandemic began. There were also 4,340 new confirmed cases out of 66,791 people who were tested in the 24 hours. Illinois is reporting a 5.7% test positivity rate in seven days.