Fort Allen Elementary School is closed until Oct. 13 after two staff members tested positive for the coronavirus, according to Hempfield Area School District Superintendent Tammy Wolicki.

The district learned Monday about the positive cases. State department of education guidelines say that if between two and four staff members in the same building test positive within 14 days while a county is in a moderate community transmission level, the school should close for five days, Wolicki said in a letter to parents.

Students will receive remote instruction this week. An in-service day is scheduled for Monday. Students who need Chromebooks can pick them up Tuesday outside the school from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The building will be cleaned during the closure.

Two elementary schools in the Penn-Trafford School District have faced similar circumstances in recent weeks as positive cases spike locally. Community transmission is being blamed for the increase in Westmoreland County.

Level Green Elementary School was closed Thursday through Monday after three staff members tested positive for coronavirus in a two-week span. An employee at Sunrise Elementary tested positive last week, the district announced Friday. The school remained open.

Westmoreland County has seen 215 new virus infections during the past week and 600 during the last month, according to state department of health figures. More than 2,400 have tested positive since March.

On Monday, the county had the third-highest total of new infections in the state at 45, according to health department data. State health officials Monday listed Westmoreland as among 46 counties with moderate transmission levels for the virus.

The death toll stands at 57 in the county.

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