3rd Hempfield school closed due to rise in covid-19 cases

Another Hempfield Area school is closed as coronavirus cases continue to rise.

Harrold Middle School closed Tuesday due to staffing shortages in relation to positive test results and staffers being identified as close contacts, said Superintendent Tammy Wolicki. The closure will last through Dec. 1 in conjunction with the Thanksgiving break.

For the period of Nov. 6-20, the school had one student and one staff member test positive for coronavirus, according to a tracker posted on the district’s website. The tracker has not yet been updated with numbers from early this week.

The decision to shutter the school came days after district officials chose to close Hempfield Area High School and West Point Elementary School for similar concern.

In letters to parents sent out over the weekend, Wolicki noted that, at West Point, several staffers tested positive over the weekend, which resulted in others being identified as close contacts, requiring them to quarantine. Last week, Wolicki reported similar struggles among staffers at the high school.

Students at all three schools will partake in remote learning. Officials plan to welcome students back to in-person learning following the Thanksgiving break.

Across the district, 18 virus cases were reported Nov. 6-20, according the tracker.

In addition to Harrold’s cases, positive tests include eight students at the high school, one staffer at West Point, one student at Fort Allen Elementary School, one student and one staffer at West Hempfield Elementary School, one staffer at Maxwell Elementary School and three people among administrators, bus drivers, maintenance and food service workers.

Presumptive cases include one student at Stanwood Elementary School, three students at the high school, one student at Harrold, two students at West Hempfield Middle School and one student at Wendover Middle School. There are no schools in the district that don’t have positive or presumptive cases.