Mercer County High School announced on Wednesday that practices and competitions for football, volleyball, and cheer squad are paused due to an outbreak status involving COVID-19. Later in the day, the school announced a brief transition to remote learning and pause for all extracurricular activities for Thursday and Friday.
In a Facebook post, Superintendent Scott Petrie anticipates in-person learning and limited extracurricular activities to resume on September 7.
The next few days will consist of contract tracing and enhanced cleaning as Mercer County High School continues to plan for next week.
The school will implement outbreak protocols which includes regular testing of student athletes and increased monitoring.
Petrie added the school will continue to work with the Mercer County Health Department to ensure safety for the students, staff, and community.
Mercer County High School emphasized the importance they believe comes from students experiencing an in-person education, citing agencies and organizations like the Illinois Department of Public Health and CDC for guidance on a safe return.
In the statement Petrie says, "the school's best efforts are being made increasingly difficulty by an aggressive form of the COVID virus."