Metzgar Elementary closed amid 5 coronavirus cases at 2 Greensburg Salem schools

James H. Metzgar Elementary School in Salem is closed through Friday, after three students tested positive for the coronavirus.

They are among five positive cases among Greensburg Salem students that occurred over 14 days and were announced late last week in a letter to parents posted online by Superintendent Gary Peiffer.

He reported two additional student cases associated with Greensburg Salem Middle School, which will remain open. One of the middle school cases is a student who is engaged in full-time remote learning while playing on the ninth-grade girls volleyball team.

The decision to close one school while keeping the other open is based on guidance from the state Department of Health and that fact that community spread of the virus is considered moderate in Westmoreland County, according to Peiffer.

He said the middle school received a deep cleaning, as will the elementary building.

All Metzgar students will spend the week learning at home, using paper worksheet packets, Peiffer said. Other district schools, including the middle school, will remain open for hybrid instruction a combination of in-person classroom instruction and remote learning at home.

During a July 30 virtual meeting, Peiffer told school board members the district would be unable to maintain recommended social distancing guidelines if it returned to full-time classroom instruction for all students.

A typical Greensburg Salem classroom can accommodate no more than 15 students while maintaining the minimum 6 feet distance between any two of them, he said.