Ball-Chatham district confirms two staff members tested positive for COVID-19

Sep. 28--Two Ball-Chatham School District employees one from Glenwood High School and one from Ball Elementary have tested positive for COVID-19, a district spokeswoman confirmed Monday.

The employees were not further identified.

District personnel were informed of both cases on Saturday, said spokeswoman Betsy Schroeder.

Meanwhile, an outbreak at Brother James Court near Riverton has now affected 43 residents and 13 staff members, said Jeff Wilhite, a spokesman for Sangamon County.

Seven residents of the facility, which houses men with developmental disabilities, are hospitalized, including four at Memorial Medical Center and three at HSHS St. John's Hospital, Wilhite added.

Ball Elementary students were last in session on Thursday and in-person classes were being held Monday. Glenwood High School students have been doing remote learning since the beginning of the school year.

The district was working in cooperation with the Sangamon County Department of Public Health.

Persons in close contact with the staff members, including students, have been notified, Schroeder said.

Parents and guardians of students in the district were told about the infections Sunday via a community-wide email, Schroeder said.

Deep cleaning and disinfecting protocols were followed at both schools, Schroeder added.

On Monday, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported 1,709 new confirmed cases of (COVID-19) in the state, including 13 additional confirmed deaths.

Sangamon County reported 61 new cases for the weekend including 26 cases on both Sunday and Monday and nine for Saturday.

Of Sangamon County's newest cases, 43 people were under age 50, including nine teenagers and a child.

The case count is now at 2,432 with eight hospitalizations.

There are 1,975 persons considered to be recovered with 404 isolating.

Brother James Court has 89 residents from around Illinois, along with 121 staff members, said administrator Sonia Bartels.

Bartels said Brother James Court is working with and updating the Sangamon County Health Department, following IDPH and CDC guidelines and monitoring staff and residents according to the guidelines.

Wilhite said The Villas East nursing home in Sherman remained the largest single outbreak in the county with 108 cases.

Logan County reported 18 new cases, spanning from Friday to Monday.

Fifteen persons exhibited symptoms while three were asymptomatic.

That puts the case county at 468, with 45 active cases and 423 considered recovered.

Christian County reported 21 new cases Sunday. Six persons are currently hospitalized.

According to a Facebook post, a Taylorville Public Library employee tested positive for COVID-19, though that employee was not around the general public.

The library will be closed "until further notice," the post stated.

Morgan County reported five new cases Saturday and Sunday and four Monday. It now has a total of 687 cases, with one hospitalization.

Cass County had three cases from the weekend and one additional case Monday. The overall case count is 402.

Cass County is one of 17 counties that remains on the IDPH "warning list."

Contact Steven Spearie at 622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com or twitter.com/stevenspearie.

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