Omicron upends return to US schools and workplaces

Some school systems around the US extended their holiday break on Monday or switched back to online instruction because of the explosion in Covid-19 cases.

Some school systems around the US extended their holiday break on Monday or switched back to online instruction because of the explosion in Covid-19 cases, while others pressed ahead with in-person classes amid a seemingly growing sense that Americans will have to learn to co-exist with the virus.

Caught between pleas from teachers fearful of infection and parents who want their children in class, school districts in cities such as New York, Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit and beyond found themselves in a difficult position midway through the academic year because of the super-contagious omicron variant.