A staff member at Pittsburgh Brookline elementary school has tested positive for covid-19, district officials said Saturday.

The person is believed to have contracted the highly contagious disease caused by the novel coronavirus outside of school grounds, Pittsburgh Public Schools spokeswoman Ebony Pugh said.

School officials alerted all families and employees of the case because the infected person was at the campus on Woodbourne Avenue the week of March 16, a few days after the statewide public school closures that began two weeks ago.

“While the staff member was reportedly exposed to the coronavirus outside of school, the individual was at the school during the first week of closure,” Pugh said by email Saturday afternoon. “Out of an abundance of caution, all district families and staff were notified of the potential exposure at the facility via the district’s robocall system today. “

Pittsburgh Brookline and Milliones schools, which serve preschoolers through eighth-graders, already had stopped serving as a Grab-and-Go lunch site on March 18 because of a separate potential exposure.

Two Brookline students and one Milliones student had a relative who tested positive for covid-19, prompting the deep cleaning of both schools.

“Fortunately, all three students have tested negative for the disease,” Pugh said.

In a letter to parents and caregivers, the district urged everyone to abide by Gov. Tom Wolf’s order to “to stay at home as much as possible so we can slow community spread of covid-19.”

Officials did not specify the position of the Brookline staff member who tested positive.

“We know that many of you may have questions and want additional details,” the district’s letter said. “However, to protect the confidentiality of this individual, this is all of the information we have to share at this time.”

All public schools in Pennsylvania will remain closed until at least April 14.

For more information, go to pghschools.org/Coronavirus.

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