CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- As the Chicago Teachers Union continues to try to make a deal with the Chicago Public Schools for a safe return to in-person learning for high school students, there's word of COVID-19 issues hitting suburban and city schools this week.
According to Chicago Public Schools, two cases of COVID-19 were found at West Ridge's George B. Armstrong Elementary School forcing 28 students and staff into quarantine.
CPS said on its website that those in quarantine include two classroom "pods," or groupings of students and teachers that spend the day together to help enforce social distancing.
Families were notified of the quarantine over the weekend.
According to CPS data, Armstrong Elementary has the fourth largest number of students and staff in quarantine this week.
Additionally, Lane Tech High School in North Center has one confirmed case and 46 in quarantine; Jones High School in the South Loop has two cases and 44 in quarantine; and, Hamilton Elementary in Lakeview has two confirmed case and 40 in quarantine. Plus, Dunbar High School in Bronzeville has two coronavirus cases and 28 in quarantine.
In all, more than 150 CPS students and staff are quarantining at home because they'd been in close contact with someone who tested positive for the coronavirus.
The same issue had become so much of a concern for District 304, that officials decided to have every student return to remote learning for the rest of the week, while they figure out what to do next.
The move comes 10 days after Geneva High School had returned to full-time in-person learning.
According to a a message from Principal Tom Rogers posted on the high school website, the issue is not a coronavirus outbreak, but the high number of students sent home to quarantine for 14 days after a COVID-19 exposure.
District 304 officials said last week 37 students were sent home to quarantine because of a COVID exposure.
Meanwhile, District 181 said a total of 59 students at Clarendon Hills and Hinsdale middle schools are quarantining at home over possible COVID exposure. Five positive COVID-19 cases were recorded this week, including two student cases at Hinsdale Middle School, two student cases at Clarendon Hills Middle School, and one staff case at Hinsdale Middle School.
