North Hills High School is switching back to online-only instruction for the remainder of the week after another student tested positive for covid-19.

The student was last in the building on Oct. 27, according to district officials. It is the seventh active case of the virus at high school.

Students are scheduled to return to a mix of online and in-person instruction on Monday.

To date, 15 people in the district — eight students and seven staff members — have tested positive for the virus.

Ten cases were at the high school, two at the middle school, two at Highcliff Elementary and one at Ross Elementary.

The decision to temporarily return to virtual learning at the high school was recommended by the Allegheny County Health Department, district officials said.

The most recent case at the high school is the fourth in two weeks.

On Sunday, a teacher who already was in quarantine has tested positive for covid-19. The teacher was last in the building on Oct. 29 and began developing symptoms on Oct. 31. A rapid test administered on Nov. 1 confirmed the presence of the virus.

Last week, two people — a high school student and teacher who also serves as a football coach — tested positive for covid-19.

The student developed symptoms last weekend and received a positive test on Oct. 28. District officials said the student had not been in school or involved in district activities since Tuesday, Oct. 20.

The coach was in the classroom with students on Oct. 23 and attended that night’s football game at Fox Chapel. But he was wearing a facial covering and following social distancing guidelines to the extent possible, district officials said.

He began experiencing covid-19 symptoms on Oct. 24 and received a positive result from a rapid test that was administered.

Before the most recent case, the district was able to continue using the hybrid model because the timeline for the active cases did not put others at risk because close contact did not occur.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines close contact as being within 6 feet of someone who has covid-19 for 15 minutes or longer.

The Allegheny County Health Department recommends a quarantine period of 14 days, but notes that most infections occur within the first few days after exposure.

The health department will handle contract tracing for the cases and issue notices to the people who need to self-quarantine.

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