Just hours before students were set to return to school Tuesday in the Cherry Hill School District, officials changed their minds and opted to return to full remote learning.

District officials say they were informed about three dozen new COVID-19 cases in the township among children ages 7 to 18.

In a letter to parents, Dr. Joseph Meloche said in part, "The Department of Health is strongly recommending that we do not open our school buildings to children and that all Cherry Hill public schools' students remain at home and follow the all-remote learning model until further notice. We are following the department's recommendation and are delaying the launch of the hybrid learning model until Monday, November 30, 2020."

The district, which has about 11,000 students, has been all remote since March and was preparing to welcome back half the student population for hybrid learning.

The district has pushed back the plan for hybrid learning until Nov. 30.