Staffer at Level Green Elementary tests positive for coronavirus

A staff member at Level Green Elementary School has tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a message sent to parents Sunday by Matt Harris, superintendent of Penn-Trafford School District.

The school will be open as normal Monday.

The district was notified Sunday about the positive test. The staff member contracted the virus from someone outside the district and officials said that contact tracing determined no other employees or students needed to quarantine. Harris did not identify the staff member.

Areas of the elementary building that were affected have been sanitized and disinfected, he said.

Penn-Trafford students returned to school Aug. 27 in a hybrid format.

Students in grades K-8 are attending school in person with the first seven Fridays of the year off. High school students have been split into two groups, each attending school on alternate days and having online instruction the rest of the time.

Students can opt into full online learning. A school district staff member tested positive for the virus in mid-August.

As of Sunday, Westmoreland County has seen 2,073 positive and 130 probable cases of the virus since March, according to state health department data. More than 42,000 cases have been negative.

There have been 54 deaths in the county attributed to the virus as of Sunday, about 57% of which have occurred in nursing home patients, according to the state data.

Statewide, there has been 156,150 positive and probable cases of the virus with 1.8 million negative tests. The death toll totals 8,106. The state estimates that 82% of people who tested positive have recovered.