While one Hancock County school district looks forward to enacting a new schedule that will bring students into the building more, another is going back to virtual learning beginning Oct. 9.

Officials with the Community School Corporation of Southern Hancock County alerted parents Thursday afternoon that due to the district’s current Covid-19 situation, which includes five positive cases across the district and the potential for active community spread, the Hancock County Health Department has recommended that New Palestine High School switch to virtual learning on Oct. 9.

While the rest of the schools in the district will be in the classroom on Oct. 9, all New Palestine schools will transition to virtual learning from Oct. 19 until Oct. 23 when students return from fall break. At this time, in-person classes will resume on Oct. 26, according to Wes Anderson, community relations and communications director for the district.

Anderson told Giant FM that the virtual instruction will be a full-day worth of instruction for students.

At Greenfield-Central Schools, students will be on a new schedule on Nov. 2 after spending months on a hybrid schedule, which featured students alternating between in-person instruction and virtual learning.  Under the new schedule, all students will report to school every day but Wednesdays, which will be a virtual learning day.

According to Greenfield-Central officials, there has not been a positive case among students in the last six weeks.

The moves by the school districts comes on the heels of another Covid-19 related death in Hancock County, bringing the total number of deaths related to the disease to 44.

Also, between Sept. 28 and Oct. 6, Hancock County added 188 new cases, bringing the total to 24,828. A total of 11 new cases were discovered between Oct. 5 and Oct. 6.