NORTH ROBINSON — Colonel Crawford Local Schools is switching its student body to remote learning after the Thanksgiving break.

Superintendent Todd Martin informed the district’s board of education during its meeting on Monday that students in the elementary, intermediate, and high school will participate in remote learning from Tuesday, Dec. 1 through Friday, Dec. 4. He said all students with physical disabilities will continue to engage in in-person classes.

Martin said he is in quarantine after coming into contact with a family member who has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. He noted that he has not been in contact with any members of the Colonel Crawford staff or student body.

Martin said the decision to extend remote learning to the entire district is a preautionary move due to the recent increase in the number of positive COVID-19 cases in Crawford County.

According to a message from Martin posted Tuesday on the Hannah Crawford Elementary School’s Facebook page, sometime last week, students in first-grade classes were exposed “to an individual who recently tested positive for COVID-19.”

“This exposure happened prior to the onset of symptoms and outside the window of a mandatory quarantine,” Martin’s message reads. “We are working closely with Crawford County Public Health to ensure all appropriate measures are being taken to safeguard our students and staff.”

All students are tentatively scheduled to return to in-person classes on Monday, Dec. 7, Martin said.

Colonel Crawford High School students have been engaged in remote learning since Nov. 19 and were scheduled to do so until after the Thanksgiving holiday break. That decision was made public on Nov. 17 after Principal Jake Bruner announced that a student had tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of positive cases over a two-week period to three.

Students in kindergarten through eighth grade were still taking classes in person.

Crawford County Public Health (CCPH) reported Tuesday that 15 new COVID-19 cases were reported to the agency since Monday. Tuesday’s report showed 248 active cases within CCPH’s jurisdiction, down from the 289 reported on Monday. Thirteen people are currently hospitalized.

The Galion City Health Department reported 13 new COVID-19 cases and a total of 106 active cases on Tuesday. Six people are currently hospitalized.