How schools plan to bring students back safely amid latest COVID-19 surge

As COVID-19 cases continue to surge, school districts are adjusting their COVID-19 protocols to safely bring students back from winter break.

With COVID-19 cases soaring nationwide, school districts are revisiting their mitigation measures as they prepare to return from winter break.

Many schools are set to welcome students back in person next week as the United States is averaging more cases than at any other point in the pandemic. As of Wednesday, federal data showed that the U.S. is reporting an average of 277,000 new cases a day -- shattering the nation's previous record average of 250,000 daily cases, set on Jan. 11, 2021.

Pediatric cases have particularly spiked. Last week, nearly 200,000 children in the U.S. tested positive for COVID-19, up by about 50% since the beginning of December, according to a report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association.

The rising cases have disrupted in-person learning leading up to the winter break. More than 1,000 schools or districts were virtual or closed last week due to rising COVID-19 cases in students and staff and logistical challenges, according to Burbio, a company that monitors COVID-19 policies in over 80,000 K-12 schools. For next week, when most school districts plan to welcome students back, Burbio has so far tracked more than 850 announced closures.