Illinois Has Had COVID-19 Outbreaks in 44 Schools but Won’t Say Where They’ve Occurred

 

“More children are testing positive for COVID-19 than they were between March and mid-August, when schools shut down. As parents weigh the safety of in-person learning, Illinois has not published information about the virus’s spread in schools.

“Nearly two months into the school year, Illinois public health officials said they have verified COVID-19 outbreaks in at least 44 school buildings across the state, but they declined to say where those cases occurred and acknowledged they may not know the full scope of the virus’s spread in schools.

“Unlike many other states, Illinois doesn’t publish the number of cases linked to schools or which schools have been affected — even as parents and educators try to assess whether in-person learning is safe. State health officials released overall numbers at the request of ProPublica Illinois and the Chicago Tribune.

“With more than 1,800 public schools operating in person at least part time, along with an unknown number of private schools, the outbreaks represent a tiny fraction of Illinois schools in session, according to an analysis of state education data. Most outbreaks have been small — two or three cases at each school — but at least 105 students and 73 employees at public and private schools have been affected.

“State health officials said many COVID-19 cases seen among children are tied to gatherings outside school and other community events, while acknowledging that local contact tracing efforts likely have missed some school-related cases.

“In all, 8,668 Illinois children ages 5 to 17 have tested positive for the virus from Aug. 15, when schools started to reopen, to Oct. 2, state health officials said. That amounts to about 180 new infections among children each day, on average, since school returned. Between March and early August, there were 11,953 confirmed COVID-19 cases among children, an average of about 72 a day. Fewer than five school-aged children have died of the disease, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

“Even as parents, school leaders and others in the state have pushed for more transparency about cases related to schools, the state health department said this week that it continues to weigh whether to publish data on school-driven outbreaks and has no timeline to decide whether to do so.

“IDPH spokeswoman Melaney Arnold said health officials are concerned that publishing COVID-19 data tied to schools could identify students and staff and violate their privacy. The department publishes case counts for other facilities, including nursing homes and psychiatric hospitals. It also specifies the number of cases in people younger than 20 in each county.

“‘Obviously we want to be as transparent as possible and get information out that people can use. That’s why we have on our website the county-level data. That way, counties can make their own decisions about what they want to do,’ Arnold said. ‘We’ve certainly received a lot of interest in this data. We’ve received interest from many different groups.’

“Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker was asked at a news briefing Wednesday whether the state will publish data about school-related infections. He did not commit to it. ‘I’m sure that IDPH is looking at school-specific reporting,’ Pritzker said. ‘I’m very much in favor of trying to get our kids back into in-person learning; however, we want to make sure that it’s safe. And it’s very difficult at the state level to dictate how each school — of the 4,000-plus schools that we’ve got across the state of Illinois — can do that.’

“Other states make district- or school-level outbreak data public online, including Ohio, Indiana and Mississippi, which post data about public and private schools; Michigan and Tennessee, which list new and ongoing outbreaks; and Kentucky, which provides student and staff case numbers ‘out of transparency and as quickly as possible,’ according to the state website with school data.

“A school outbreak is defined as two or more confirmed cases within 14 days of the start of symptoms in people who do not share a household and did not have close contact in another setting. Nearly two-thirds of the confirmed school outbreaks resulted in two or three infections, and about a third led to between four and nine cases. One school had an outbreak that affected 18 people.

“Health department officials are also tracing current school outbreaks in which the total number of infected people isn’t yet known, said Dr. Connie Austin, an infectious disease epidemiologist with the IDPH. Austin said the department is reluctant to estimate the risk of attending school — each community is different — but emphasized that students and staff should wear masks and keep socially distant when together. ‘We need a little more time to be able to evaluate these outbreaks,’ Austin said. ‘It is certainly happening; that’s why schools need to take the precautions they can take.’”

This story is a collaboration between ProPublica Illinois and the Chicago Tribune.