Norwin area covid cases up almost 10%
The spread of new coronavirus cases in the North Huntingdon-Irwin area fell to slightly less than 10% from Nov. 2 to 9, after spiking as high as 20% in the last week of October, according to data reported Monday by the state Department of Health.
There were 615 confirmed covid-19 cases in North Huntingdon, Irwin and North Irwin, as of Nov. 9, compared to 561 as of Nov. 2, according to the state health department. There was a 9.6% increase in coronavirus cases in the past week in the Norwin community, which has a population of about 35,000.
The confirmed covid-19 count is based on 600 confirmed cases in the North Huntingdon-Irwin 15642 ZIP code, plus 13 confirmed cases from the Westmoreland City 15692 ZIP code. With the state reporting between one and four confirmed cases in both the Larimer and Ardara ZIP codes of 15647 and 15615 respectively, the total count includes one case from each ZIP code.
The number of cases could rise by Nov. 16 because there were 123 probable cases in the region, up from 86 probable cases in the North Huntingdon-Irwin ZIP code. The Larimer and Westmoreland City areas each had 1-to-4 cases, the state said. There were 6,922 negative tests in the region.
With the increase in covid-19 cases in the Norwin community and hundreds of students and staff who have been quarantined for 14 days because people had the virus or had been in close contact with a person who tested positive, Norwin Superintendent Jeff Taylor has recommended the school district postpone a return to full in-school instruction on Nov. 18. Taylor said he wants to continue to provide instruction in a hybrid manner that has one-half of the student body in school two days a week and the other half of the students in class for two days, with all students getting virtual instruction on Wednesdays.
The school district said on Monday that a middle school staff member and a high school student have tested positive for coronavirus. More than 30 students and staff have tested positive for coronavirus since school opened on Aug. 31.
The health department, in coordination with the school nurses, is completing contact tracing, the district said.
Westmoreland County is in a “moderate level” of community transmission as of Nov. 5, the health department said on Monday.
Joe Napsha is a TribLive reporter covering Irwin, North Huntingdon and the Norwin School District. He also writes about business issues. He grew up on Neville Island and has worked at the Trib since the early 1980s. He can be reached at jnapsha@triblive.com.
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