Not in numbers to justify shutting down classes. Our schools are open and we get alerts when a child, or staff, in the school reports testing positive. Most I have ever seen is about 12 total (students and staff) in a single week. They are generally out 6-7 school days. And that is from a campus with around 2,500 students and close to 200 teachers + staff. So try again.
Staffing is becoming a problem everywhere… not just schools.
That is what happens when you have a lot of people sick all at the same time.
I don’t know where you are… but a densely packed city like Chicago… it seems to me to be proactive that the teachers go to remote learning because you can look at the school system in NYC and see the chaos that is happening there.
I would suspect that NYC and Chicago have an issue with “sick buildings.” What I mean is ventilation systems contaminated with decades of grime and infectious spores. The buildings themselves are active breeding grounds for disease spread, especially upper respiratory. The building I worked in in Panama was like that. It dated back to the 20’s, and the building gave me such a sinus infection I needed a week of sinus flushing and sulfa antibiotics to get over it. It was a SKIF, so you just couldn’t shut it down and remodel.
But still… there are a lot of sick people all at the same time and that means that the whole system starts to fall apart.
Now Omicron is less deadly and the vast majority of the NYC school teachers are vaccinated… but they can still get sick and not be able to come to work.
I actually think the building layouts in older cities like NYC and Chicago contribute to the spread of all airborne diseases in them. High rise buildings, elevators and stairwells inside the buildings. Interior Office and apartment entry ways located in interior hallways. All with recirculating ventilation, heating and cooling. Mass use of public transportation, involving significant commutes in close proximity, in poorly ventilated carriage cars. Winter sees these things all buttoned up to hold in the heat. Most apartment complexes down here are open layout, with exterior stairwells and entries. Public transportation is no where near as prevalent.
Building designs that maximize interior foot print, but use elevation to limit exterior footprint are going to be more encapsulated. Older cities use this to maximize use of space. Tear and old building down and a new high rise goes up in it’s place. But there is a down side as we are prone to infectious diseases.
It appears an agreement has been reached to return students to school, with agreements to close if a minimum percentage of students and faculty are sick or test positive for COVID-19.
