An uptick in student absences reported last week by the Pella Community School District may linger into this week.

Last week, an average of 154 students were absent-or approximately 6.6% of the entire district population, due to illness. A total of 45 positive COVID-19 cases were reported Friday.

Superintendent Greg Ebeling says the Pella Community School District strongly encourages mask wearing this week to keep kids and staff in the building, especially since they have far fewer options to keep students engaged in learning with a large number of absences.

Last week, Jefferson Intermediate School reached the 10 percent absentee threshold related to illness that requires reporting to the Iowa Department of Public Health. If that level of absences continue, the district could close certain buildings or all of their campus over safety concerns.