Deer Lakes High School student tests positive for covid-19

Deer Lakes School District still plans to reinstate full-time in-person learning beginning next week even though another person in the district has tested positive for covid-19.

Superintendent Janell Logue-Belden said a student at Deer Lakes High School informed the district they had tested positive for covid-19 on Saturday, Oct. 31.

This is the fourth person in the district to have tested positive for covid-19 in the last month. Three staff members — two at the middle school and one at the high school — have also tested positive for the virus.

District spokeswoman Coby Detar said privacy laws prevent the district from identifying the student. She did confirm this is the first student that has tested positive for covid-19.

“The district will continue their constant communication with the Allegheny (County) Health Department on any updates or decisions for the various learning models to ensure the safety of the students, families and staff members,” Detar said.

News of the latest positive case comes about a week before students will be able to return to five-day-a-week-in-person learning. Since the beginning of the school year, the district has operated on hybrid and fully online learning models. But after strong demand from parents, school directors voted to reinstate full-time, in-person learning at their October voting meeting.

Students will be able to return to school full-time starting Nov. 9. Students will only attend school four days the first week because Wednesday, Nov. 11 was already a scheduled day off. Hybrid and fully online learning will remain available for students and parents not comfortable with going back to school full-time.

In a letter to district families, Logue-Belden said the Allegheny County Health Department has been notified of the situation and anyone who has been in close contact with the infected individual has been instructed to quarantine at-home for two weeks.

If the health department hasn’t contacted a parent or student with specific instructions, it means they haven’t been exposed and should continue on as normal, the letter said.

Parents and students who test positive for covid-19 need to inform their school nurse or school administration as soon as possible and begin quarantining, the letter said.