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Six local elementary schools added to outbreak report

Hamilton's Blue Star Elementary was one of several local schools added to the state's outbreak report Monday, Nov. 22.
Hamilton's Blue Star Elementary was one of several local schools added to the state's outbreak report Monday, Nov. 22.

Six local elementary schools were added to the state’s School-Related Cluster and Outbreak Report this week, a new weekly high for the Holland area this school year.

Zeeland’s Woodbridge and Quincy elementaries, West Ottawa’s Great Lakes Elementary, Holland Christian’s Rose Park Christian School, Hamilton’s Blue Star Elementary and Vanderbilt Charter Academy were all listed in the Monday, Nov. 22, update with either three or four cases tied together.

Three schools in Grand Haven and one in Spring Lake were also added to the report. The rise in local outbreaks coincides with a continued rise in COVID-19 cases across the region and state.

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School district’s throughout Ottawa and Allegan counties elected to give students and staff the full week of Thanksgiving off amid the rise in cases.

Locally, Holland, Zeeland and Hamilton each adjusted the calendar to take the full week, Nov. 22 to Nov. 26, off.

Grand Haven also moved to take the week off, while Holland Christian kept Rose Park Elementary home this week, but kept other buildings open Monday and Tuesday. Hopkins, Otsego and Plainwell schools are also off all week in Allegan County.

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Holland Public posted a case update Friday reporting 29 new cases, 23 of the students. There were eight student cases at Holland Language Academy, six at the high school and four each at Holland Middle and West Elementary.

There have been 129 student and 28 staff member cases of COVID-19 at HPS this school year.

West Ottawa Public Schools posted an update Monday showing 71 active student cases. There were 22 cases at the high school and 10 each at Waukazoo and Lakewood elementaries.

Students head into West Ottawa's Great Lakes Elementary for their first day of school on Tuesday, September 1, 2020.
Students head into West Ottawa's Great Lakes Elementary for their first day of school on Tuesday, September 1, 2020.

There have now been 327 student cases in the district this year. There were also six active staff cases as of Monday.

An update from Zeeland, posted Thursday, showed 88 active cases in the district. Of those, 18 were at Cityside Middle, 12 were at Woodbridge Elementary and 10 were at Quincy Elementary.

There have been 305 total cases in ZPS this school year.

Holland Christian reported 25 active student cases and nine current staff cases in an update Monday. Ten of the student cases were at Rose Park, while seven were at the high school.

Students at Holland Christian's Rose Park Elementary arrive for the first day of school Tuesday, Aug. 24.
Students at Holland Christian's Rose Park Elementary arrive for the first day of school Tuesday, Aug. 24.

There have been 87 total cases at Holland Christian this year, with 59 of those being students.

The most recent update from Hamilton, posted Thursday, showed 42 active student cases. Thirteen of those were at Blue Star Elementary, 10 were at Hamilton Middle and six were at Hamilton High.

So far this school year, HCS has had 116 student cases and 25 staff cases of COVID-19.

Black River posted an update Friday with one new case. There have been 41 total cases at BR this year, including 15 in the month of November.

Wednesday, Aug. 25, marked the first day of school at Black River Public School.
Wednesday, Aug. 25, marked the first day of school at Black River Public School.

Saugatuck Public Schools reported six new cases in the district last week, two each on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. The total for the school year is now at 20.

A series of letters posted on the Fennville Public Schools website last week reported nine new cases in the district. There have been 62 total cases in FPS this year.

School COVID-19 cases for the 2021-22 school year
Infogram

There were seven active student cases at Hope College as of Monday, according to the college’s website. There have been 108 total cases among the student body this semester.

Grand Valley State University had 185 active cases in the campus community as of Monday morning. The majority are students living off campus, including 67 in Ottawa County and 65 in Kent County. There were also 26 cases among faculty and staff and 20 among students living on campus.

The seven-day average of new cases per day at GVSU was at 19.7 as of Monday.

— Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at mboatman@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @SentinelMitch.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Six local elementary schools added to outbreak report