With the positive infection rate in Connecticut rising above 20 percent as the Omicron variant rapidly spreads, some schools have been facing staffing and busing shortages due to the virus.
In New Haven County, Hamden Schools Superintendent Jody Ian Goeler took to social media to announce that the high school would be closed on Tuesday, Jan. 4 due to staffing shortages.
The move comes a day after the Hamden Middle School and Hamden Collaborative Learning Center were forced to close on Monday, Jan. 3.
Ansonia Public Schools will also be closing due to COVID-19-related staffing concerns, Superintendent Joseph DiBacco announced.
Students were expected to return to class on Jan. 3 following the holiday break, but the spike in new infections forced district officials to close the school, noting that remote learning is currently not an option.
Classes are expected to resume on Monday, Jan. 10.
“At present, we have 25 percent of staff out due to COVID and we had several bus drivers out as well which resulted in the cancellation of transportation,” DiBacco wrote in a letter to the community. "It is a harsh reality and a stark reminder that our community is suffering from another wave of COVID.”
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