Parents, schools face another reckoning over COVID-19 cases

By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — The quick spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus has stirred another reckoning about whether in-person schooling is worth the risk. Teachers worry about endangering their health by entering crowded schools. Frustrated parents wonder how to keep their children safe and whether campuses could become superspreader sites. Most schools across the country are keeping classrooms open, despite the new threat from omicron, but some school districts have moved to limit in-person instruction as a precaution. On Monday, a fifth of New York City’s public school students skipped in-person classes. That’s an indication of the anxiety spawned by the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in New York state.