Thousands of U.S. schools, including in some major cities, have delayed this week's scheduled return to classrooms following the holiday break or switched to remote learning as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus drives record levels of COVID-19, Trend reports citing Reuters.
In New Jersey, which has seen some of the highest case rates of any state in recent weeks, most urban districts have implemented virtual classes to start the new year, including Newark, which has nearly 38,000 students.
Milwaukee's public school system announced on Sunday that its more than 70,000 students would switch to virtual learning on Tuesday due to a rise in COVID infections among staff members. Cleveland's schools have also gone remote, while Detroit canceled classes through Wednesday.
The school disruptions, which left many parents scrambling to find child care, have added to a broadening sense of chaos in the first few days of 2022. The number of new COVID-19 cases has doubled in the last seven days to an average of 418,000 a day, according to a Reuters tally.