Add the Fairfield Community School District to the growing list of area schools going to 100 percent virtual learning after the Thanksgiving holiday break. Fairfield schools initially made the move to virtual only classes on November 16, but Tuesday, the Iowa Department of Education officially approved the district’s application for a waiver request to move all Fairfield schools to online classes effective November 30 through December 11. In their request, Fairfield administrators note, “The district continues to see an increase of positive COVID-19 cases within our student and staff populations. This spread has resulted in staffing needs causing an inability to cover custodial needs, food service, and classroom supports.”  The FCSD resides in five counties: Jefferson, Van Buren, Henry, Wapello, and Washington and their waiver application shows the trend of positivity rate continues to increase in each of those counties with Jefferson County’s 14-day positivity rate at 21.3 percent on Monday, Henry County at 20.3, Van Buren County 24.0, Wapello County 24.3 and Washington County 18.1 percent.  With the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, the school district plans to return to a hybrid model of learning on December 14.