By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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BYRON — The Byron School District has switched to remote learning and shut down extracurricular activities after a rise in coronavirus cases in Ogle County.

The district said on its website that the decision was made after receiving a recommendation from the Ogle County Health Department due to an increase in cases and challenges keeping up with contact tracing.

Remote learning will be in place through the remainder of the week and all extracurriculars and park district activities are shut down through Dec. 26.

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“Like many local schools, we have experienced a significant uptick in cases over the last week, and with the support and recommendations of the Ogle County Health Department, tried our best to mitigate them,” the district wrote on its website. “However, at this time, our staff simply cannot keep up with the increased demands of contact tracing and test-to-stay protocols.”

The county’s coronavirus case rate over the past week was more than 13 times above the state’s target level of 50 cases per 100,000 people. There were five deaths from the virus in the week ending Dec. 4, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

There have been more than 9,300 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ogle County since the start of the pandemic, including 102 deaths, according to IDPH.

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This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas.