The West Iron County School District in Iron River on Friday joined neighboring Forest Park Schools in deciding to suspend in-person classes due to Iron County’s rapidly climbing number of COVID-19 positives.

The district will shift Tuesday to remote learning, even though officials acknowledged the schools have not yet received the Chromebooks ordered so every student has a device for home.

The campus shutdown will extend at least through Oct. 9.

In a letter posted on its website Friday, school officials said the Dickinson-Iron District Health Department recommended the move in light of Iron County’s recent “large spike” in COVID-19 positives.

“In the past week alone, we have seen the case count climb by 82 within the county,” the DIDHD said in a statement to the district. “There have been cases affiliated with both students and staff at our local schools. The community is also exhibiting community spread at an alarming rate.”

West Iron County parents and students were advised to look for further announcements from the district and staff early next week.

The DIDHD on Friday reported 23 new COVID-19 positives in Iron County for 147 confirmed cases and six probables, with 27 recovered, one death and 125 cases still active. Dickinson County on Friday had five new positives for 124 confirmed cases and three probables, with 62 recovered, two deaths and 63 cases still active.

Michigan’s COVID-19 data site Friday showed 129 additional cases in the Upper Peninsula: 52 in Houghton County, 34 in Delta County, 20 in Iron County, 10 in Menominee County, five in Dickinson County, four in Marquette County, two in Gogebic County and one each in Keweenaw and Schoolcraft counties. Its numbers for several of the counties were lower than what area health departments posted on their websites or Facebook pages.

Among Wisconsin counties in the region, that state’s COVID-19 data site listed 38 new cases in Marinette County, along with an eighth death; nine each in Florence and Vilas counties; and six in Forest County.

For the Upper Peninsula, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services on Friday had Keweenaw County with eight confirmed cases and one probable; Luce County, 12 confirmed cases and one probable; Alger County, 16 confirmed and one probable; Baraga County, 17 confirmed cases and nine probable; Schoolcraft County, 23 confirmed cases and two probable; Ontonagon County, 41 confirmed and one probable; Mackinac County, 41 confirmed cases and 16 probable; Chippewa County, 50 confirmed cases and 27 probable; Dickinson County, 125 confirmed cases, three probable and two deaths; Iron County, 141 confirmed cases, four probable and one death; Gogebic County, 146 confirmed cases, 12 probable and a death; Marquette County, 297 confirmed cases, 57 probable and 12 deaths; Delta County, 334 confirmed cases, 43 probable and seven deaths; Houghton County, 362 confirmed cases, 80 probable and one deaths; and Menominee County, 323 confirmed cases, 46 probable and a death. State numbers are updated daily but can lag behind local reports or have other discrepancies.

Using only the state figures Friday, the Upper Peninsula has had 1,936 confirmed COVID-19 cases to date with 26 deaths.

The MDHHS reported 929 confirmed new COVID-19 cases in Michigan on Friday for a total of 120,526 to date. The state added eight new deaths Friday for a total of 6,708.

For Wisconsin counties in the region, the state Department of Health Services’ COVID-19 data site Thursday had Marinette County with 854 confirmed cases, 19 probable cases and eight deaths; Forest County, 257 confirmed, three probable and four deaths; Vilas County, 193 confirmed, five probable and a death; Iron County, 138 confirmed, seven probable and one death; and Florence County, 87 confirmed and one death. As with the Michigan data, the state numbers are updated daily but can lag behind local reports or have other discrepancies.

Wisconsin recorded 2,504 new positives in the state Friday for a total of 110,828, according to the state DHS data site. The state had nine new COVID-19 deaths Friday to reach 1,274.

Testing at Dickinson County Healthcare System as of Friday showed 29 positives from Dickinson County and 83 cases from other counties; those counties are not identified. DCHS has tested 4,036 people for COVID-19, with 112 positive, 3,772 negative and 152 results still pending. DCHS noted there are several additional sources of testing in Dickinson County.