Several local school districts have gone full-remote for the rest of the year, due to the large number of coronavirus cases locally. The Daily Freeman reports that the Saugerties Central School District has now decided to continue with remote learning through the first week of January. Case counts are still high locally. And the Thanksgiving holiday saw higher case totals locally, and now Christmas and New Year's will probably also increase numbers. So this might not be the only school district extending remote learning in January. "Due to the consistent number of positive cases in our region and predictions for further increases as we move to the holiday season, the Saugerties Central School District will continue with our remote learning model," a letter to parents and guardians from Superintendent Kirk Reinhardt said. "We anticipate returning to our hybrid model on Monday, January 11, 2021. We will continue to closely monitor our region and local cases." Ulster County announced 71 new COVID cases on Dec. 18. Dutchess County reported 116 new cases on Dec. 20 with four more deaths. Columbia County reported 11 new cases on Dec. 19, and 19 more on Dec. 20. Greene County reported 21 new cases on Dec. 18. The Rensselaer County Health Department reported 73 new cases on Dec. 20, and two more deaths: a 72-year-old man from Brunswick, and a 74-year-old man from Rensselaer. And Albany County set another new record for residents hospitalized for COVID-19, with 114 reported on Sunday. Albany County also reported 178 new cases of coronavirus, and one more death.