[UPDATE, 11/12/2020: After resuming remote-only learning on Thursday, the Cedar Rapids Community School District's 14-day waiver was approved Thursday and in-person classes are now scheduled to resume on November 30, according to KCRG.]

The Coronavirus pandemic is once again on the upswing, it's not good news, and the Cedar Rapids Community School District becomes the latest to face a tough decision just in time for the holidays.

Iowa's News Now reports that CRCSD will apply for a waiver to return to an all virtual learning format due to COVID-19 spread in the community.

Within 48 hours of the request being issued on Tuesday, they are expected to know if that waiver is granted, and all students will go online, in all schools through November 30.

Several other school districts in the area, including College Community, Clear-Creek Amana, Marion Independent and Linn-Mar have either submitted grant requests or have already switched to online learning. Parents also receive personal notifications when these announcements are made.

Plans had been in place to open four buildings this month in the Cedar Rapids Community School District that had been closed for derecho damage repair. When the temporary switch to online learning takes effect, those reopenings will obviously be impacted.

Reports say that on Monday, COVID-related hospitalizations had more than doubled. From 564 on October 25th to over 1,000 on Monday. The Gazette said as of Friday, Nov. 6, 91 students and 69 staff were in quarantine and 21 students and 45 staff had tested positive for COVID-19.

There is not much more information to announce at this time as the district awaits approval on its waiver request.

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