Norwin covid-19 cases top 100; 21 new cases reported

Norwin School District officials said Wednesday the district has 21 new covid-19 cases among its students and staff, pushing the total number of cases since school began Aug. 31 to more than 100.

The reports of 21 new cases, pushing the total to 114 cases of the coronavirus, is the highest number of cases the district announced in one day since school began.

The spike in cases comes just two days before Superintendent Jeff Taylor previously said he might notify the state Department of Education that Norwin would move from all-remote instruction for its 5,300 students this week to the previous hybrid model of instruction.

Since school began, Norwin has offered two days of in-school teaching with half the student body and two days with the other half, then remote for the three other days, to allow for social distancing in the classrooms.

The increase in cases comes as the Norwin community’s three municipalities in Westmoreland County — North Huntingdon, Irwin and North Irwin — saw an 18% increases in confirmed cases from Nov. 23 to 30.

As for the 21 new cases, Norwin said it is spread across its six of its seven school buildings:

• Nine students and one employee at the high school;

• Two students at the middle school;

• One student at Hillcrest Intermediate;

• Two students at Sheridan Terrace Elementary;

• Three students and one employee at Stewartsville Elementary;

• Two students at Sunset Valley Elementary.

The infected employees have not been in school since last week, according to Heather Newell, Sheridan Terrance principal and the district’s covid-19 pandemic coordinator.

Contact tracing is underway through consultation with and guidance by the state Department of Health. All the school buildings will be cleaned and disinfected as part of its normal procedures, Newell stated.

These new cases are in the process of being added to the Norwin School District COVID-19 Tracker.