Illinois Junior High CLOSING Due To Covid Cases; Are More On The Way?
An Illinois Junior High, Edison Junior High School in Rock Island, has been closed effective immediately due to a major spike in covid-19 cases, the Rock Island School District announced today.
Edison Junior High School in Rock Island
Edison will close for an adaptive pause due to an increase in positive cases of Covid-19, the announcement said.
In an e-mail, the District didn’t mention the number of cases but did say there was a rapid spike in the number of both students and staff having contracted and in quarantine from covid cases and potential exposure. The decision to close the school was made after consultation with the Rock Island County Health Department.
The school will be closed immediately, through at least Nov. 29, the Monday after Thanksgiving.
During the closure, Edison students will switch to a remote learning lesson plan. The students will remain on a full school day of remote learning. Parents will be notified of the details of the remote learning experience in an e-mail this weekend.
As with previous closure, school meals will still be provided for students in need. Information regarding that will also be sent out this weekend.
At this point, all other schools in Rock Island/Milan School District 41 will remain in-person.
In the latest covid numbers for the county, the Rock Island County Health Department reports 101 new cases of COVID-19 since the last report on Wednesday. The total number of cases is now 19,052. Currently, 29 patients are hospitalized in the county with the virus. The average age of newly infected patients is 33.
Statewide, Illinois covid numbers have slightly increased over the past week, to a 2.3 percentage infection rate from 2.2.
The full letter reads as follows:
Dear Edison Jr. Staff and Families,
Due to an increase in positive cases of Covid-19 at Edison Jr. High School and a growing number of staff/students currently quarantined 
from school due to a potential exposure, I am recommending that Edison Jr. High School close (Adaptive Pause) for a period of time to quarantine students.
After consulting with the Rock Island County Health Department, it was determined that Edison Jr. High School will close from Nov. 8 through Nov. 26. Students will report back to school on Monday, Nov. 29. During this time, all instruction for all Edison Jr. High School students will revert to remote instruction for full days of learning. Please be ready to report to school virtually on Monday, Nov. 8 starting at 8:10 am for Advisory Class. Further communication from Principal Varnes about the remote learning schedule, available meals, and technology needs will be sent this weekend.
All extracurriculars and activities for Edison Jr. High School students are suspended through November 29th. All other RIMSD #41 schools will stay open as normal. The school will be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized, following state health and safety guidelines.
The temporary closure of Edison Jr. High School is a precautionary measure put in place to minimize further spread and keep our students and staff safe. If there are any further updates, RIMSD #41 will communicate immediately via Remind, robo-call and posting a notice on the website www.rimsd41.org. Thank you for your understanding and ongoing cooperation with our COVID policies and procedures as we work to help protect your children, your families, and our staff and their families from the COVID-19 virus.
Sincerely,
Dr. Reginald Lawrence
The switch in covid numbers has been one factor that Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker listed in him saying this week that the statewide mask mandate wasn’t going to be lifted anytime soon.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker talked to the media at an event to showcase him getting his covid-19 booster shot (Pfizer) and said there’s a possibility he might lift the statewide indoor mask mandate in time for the holidays, but he doesn’t see it happening any time soon. Given 
that there’s only three weeks until Thanksgiving, it’s not looking promising.
“What we’re trying to evaluate is are the hospitalization numbers increasing, decreasing, or staying the same,” Pritzker said. “We want them decreasing. They’re not currently, just to be clear. New hospitalizations are flat. That is not a good sign.”
Hospital numbers must improve before he removes the indoor mask requirement outside of schools, Pritzker said.
As of today, Illinois’ seven-day rolling test positive positivity average is 2.3 percent, up slightly from last week’s 2.2 percent.
Over 70 percent of Illinois residents age 12 and older are vaccinated.
