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RUSK COUNTY, Texas (KLTV) - The Labor Day holiday weekend started early for students at Laneville ISD in Rusk County.

The district was closed Wednesday and Thursday due to a high number of illnesses among students in all grades, according to a letter posted by the district to social media. Students and staff will return Tuesday, Sept. 5, following the Labor Day holiday. According to the letter, janitors will be doing a “deep disinfection” of all areas while students are away.

Among the illnesses spreading across East Texas is COVID-19. The latest map of community spread levels from the Northeast Texas Public Health District shows the virus is spreading at moderate levels in Smith, Gregg, Wood, Van Zandt, and Henderson counties. This is change from two weeks ago when those counties were seeing minimal spread, according to CEO George Roberts.

NET Health's latest COVID-19 community spread map.(Northeast Texas Public Health District)

And while COVID-related hospitalizations are slowly increasing, the number of people hospitalized with the virus remains relatively low.

“We had 24 East Texans in Tyler hospitals last Thursday and yesterday was 38,” Roberts said. “So, more cases, but they do not seem to be as severe as they were from the previous times.”

Looking at historical data, Roberts said this late summer increase follows a trend seen in previous years. An updated COVID-19 vaccine is expected to be released next month, according to the CDC.