2 Hempfield Area schools temporarily closed because of covid-19 cases

Two Hempfield Area schools are temporarily closed because of multiple covid-19 cases, school officials announced.

The high school and Fort Allen Elementary are closed Monday, according to Superintendent Tammy Wolicki. Students, who will participate in remote learning Monday, will return to the classroom on Tuesday.

According to an online covid-19 tracker, there are six active cases at the high school, where students are attending classes through a hybrid model. There were four cases at Fort Allen, where students attending in-person classes five days a week.

That brings the district’s total active cases to 10. Of those, eight are students and two are staffers. No other schools in the district have active cases at this time, the tracker shows.

Transmission rates of the virus have continued to fall below triple digit case counts, with 61 new cases reported in Westmoreland County on Saturday, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The county last saw a triple-digit count Feb. 3, and 18 of the 31 days since then have remained below 75 new cases.

In all, 27,150 covid-cases have been reported in the county.

Of closing district schools, Wolicki said, “While it is inconvenient to move students to remote only instruction, it provides an opportunity to mitigate spread to others.”

Free breakfast and lunch is available to students between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. at each school. Technology support will be offered at the high school between those same times, or an appointment can be made by calling the help desk at 724-850-2241.

Wolicki encouraged families to report positive cases to school nurses, principals and to Lisa Maloney, supervisor of pupil services.