More than 3,000 U.S. schools closed in first week of 2022 as COVID-19 continues spreading

WASHINGTON: JAN. 6 – At least 3,229 schools across the United States were closed in the first week of January, as COVID-19 infections continue soaring and drive staffing shortages, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.

“Nationally, the number of in-person closing has tripled since Dec. 19 (2021) as the percentage of positive tests surged,” the media reported, adding that the continuing spread of the Omicron variant led large districts like Atlanta, Detroit, and Prince George’s County in Maryland to adopt virtual instruction just days into the new year.

In New Jersey, 32 percent of schools switched to remote learning as of Tuesday, said a state Department of Education spokesperson, noting that infections among students have more than doubled in three weeks to 11 per 1,000 pupils, while staff positives have quadrupled to 24 per 1,000.

The United States, the world’s worst hit by the pandemic, shattered a single-day record with over one million COVID-19 cases on Monday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

-Xinhua/RSS