Mars Area High School is closing the school building through Friday, according to a notification posted on the district website Monday.

The decision to close the high school comes five days after the district announced a high school student tested positive for COVID-19.

In addition to that case, the Pennsylvania Department of Health recently identified two other positive cases in the high school, making three active cases.

In response, the high school will remain closed through Friday for a deep cleaning. Students who have been attending class in person will need to shift to a livestream interactive format.

With next Monday being a scheduled in-service day, high school students will return to the building Nov. 10.

All other district schools will be open and operating on schedule.

Other events are affected as follows:

Parent conferences at the high school will be held as planned next Monday. Anyone with concerns about attending an in-person conference should contact teachers as soon as possible to make alternate arrangements.

All sporting events will be held as scheduled.

The bus providing transportation to Butler Area Vocational-Technical School will depart from the high school promptly at 12:20 p.m. Students who are not quarantining and planning to ride the bus must obtain their own transportation to the high school.

The SAT test scheduled Saturday will be held as planned.