36 Lake Zurich High Students Test Positive For COVID-19

LAKE ZURICH, IL — Health officials said Tuesday that 36 Lake Zurich High School students had tested positive for the coronavirus after attending sports camps or social gatherings, according to a news release from the Lake County Health Department. While many of the students were identified during health screenings at athletic camps at the high school on July 6, others slipped past the screenings and began showing symptoms later in the day before being sent home. But several of the students who tested positive showed "no symptoms whatsoever," department spokesperson Hannah Goering told the Daily Herald.

Officials said that many recent cases of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus, have been traced to young people, who can spread the virus to more vulnerable people while showing no symptoms themselves.

Through the health department's investigation and contact tracing efforts, health officials determined students may have been exposed to the virus at multiple social gatherings prior to the athletic camps, according to the news release. All participants of the Lake Zurich High School athletic camps have been asked to self-quarantine for 14 days, and the camps themselves have been suspended, at least temporarily.

District Superintendent Kelley Gallt told the Daily Herald she didn't know exactly when or if the sports camps would resume.

COVID-19 cases had been on the decline in recent weeks, but are now beginning to climb again. More social gatherings could mean cases could climb even faster, health officials said.

"Our lives are very interconnected and this virus spreads very easily from person to person," said Sana Ahmed, medical epidemiologist at the Lake County Health Department. "Even if you personally aren't at a high risk of severe illness, you need to consider that every person you interact with may have someone close to them who is vulnerable. Please, do your part to protect your health and also look out for others. Take the risks seriously so your actions don’t result in someone else’s hospitalization or death."

Health officials urge anyone who has COVID-19 symptoms or who may have had direct contact with a confirmed case to get a coronavirus test and to self-quarantine for 14 days from their last potential date of exposure.

This past Sunday, 355 people stopped out to a mobile testing site at Lake Zurich High School. The mobile testing site will again be available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, July 19, in Lake Zurich High School's Performing Arts Center parking lot, 300 Church Street.

Testing will be provided for Lake Zurich High School students and staff from 9 to 11 a.m., and those stopping out should bring a student or staff ID. Testing for the general public will be offered from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The testing site may close early once 500 tests have been completed. Testing is first come, first served, and long wait times are expected due to high demand for testing.

People who are currently experiencing COVID-19 symptoms should not wait to get tested and should contact their healthcare provider or call the Lake County Health Department's Communicable Disease program at 847-377-8130 for guidance.