Montgomery County reports recent COVID-19 death, first positive student case

HILLSBORO — Montgomery County is reporting its eighth COVID-19 death in the same week the first school student tests positive, as cases and positive tests tick upward.

An announcement by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) on Thursday, Aug. 20 reveals a female in her 90s was among 27 deaths within the previous 24-hour period.

Hillsboro Schools reports first student COVID-19 case

On Sunday, Hillsboro CUSD #3 superintendent David Powell released a press release on Facebook that a student tested positive for COVID-19 on the first day of school, which was Wednesday, Aug. 19.

Powell additionally states that the student, who attends Hillsboro High School, was not in attendance on Thursday or Friday.

“We immediately put our contact tracing plan into action,” Powell states. “The student’s teachers and high school administration supplied the Montgomery County Health Department with all the information they needed to determine which students and staff should quarantine due to possible exposure from prolonged close contact.”

Powell also reports that 17 students, but no staff members, will have to undergo a 14-day quarantine. Each family received contact by the health department Sunday.

“School will resume as planned on Monday,” the superintendent states.

Montgomery County with a 2.4% COVID-19 positivity rate

Montgomery County Health Department reports — as of 3:45 PM Sunday — reports 26 new positive cases for a total of 216, a 4% uptick from last week. Overall, the number of positive cases for COVID-19 reflects a 2.4% positivity rate with a death rate of 0.09%.

Positive cases at Graham Correctional

Additionally, the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) confirms additional cases at Graham Correctional Center. The current totals at Graham include nine confirmed cases among staff members and three cases among prisoners. The report confirms an increase of five cases among staff members and two cases among prisoners. Moreover, this reflects increases from four and one respectively for staff and prisoners. However, only one positive staff case has had a full recovery.

---

For more local and Illinois news, follow Jake Leonard @JakeLeonardWPMD and Heartland Newsfeed @HLNF_Bulletin on Twitter.

Additionally, you can follow Heartland Newsfeed on Facebook and Reddit among other platforms.