The omicron variant and a severe winter storm have caused a personnel shortage in Philadelphia public schools, forcing more than 40 students to transfer to online classes on Monday, The Hill reports.
From January 10 to 14, at least 46 public schools in the Philadelphia School District will be “100%” remote, according to William Hite, the district’s superintendent.
Due to serious “staffing issues” created by the omicron variant and the winter storm that rocked the mid-Atlantic area this week, Hite said the city has had an “extremely hard first week back to school.”
According to Fox 29, the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers blamed the school administration for the unexpected shutdown, calling it a “failure to plan” against the omicron version.
According to the publication, the union claims that more than 90% of the Philadelphia public schools have staffing concerns and lack proper coronavirus examination materials and that it has requested a seven-day delay on in-person learning.
While President Biden has urged schools to remain open, the highly infectious omicron strain has put school systems under pressure.
The Chicago Teachers Union is presently on strike against in-person schooling and is negotiating coronavirus safety precautions with school system authorities.
Students at two high schools in North Carolina will also be unable to ride the school bus for two weeks after scores of bus drivers tested positive for coronavirus.
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