Maryland school district temporarily going back to virtual learning amid COVID-19 surge

A Maryland school district on Friday announced that its school system will temporarily be returning to virtual learning amid a surge of COVID-19 cases.

In a note to the county’s school community, Prince George’s County Public Schools CEO Monica Goldson said that schools will be returning to remote learning beginning on Monday.

Goldson noted that after students return from winter break on Jan. 3, schools will continue virtual learning until mid-January, with students returning to the classroom on Jan. 18. Students participating in a virtual learning program for those in kindergarten through sixth grade will return to in-person instruction on Jan. 31.

“Educators, administrators and support staff must be able to deliver in-person instruction and other activities in conditions that prioritize their own health, as well as the wellbeing of the school community,” Goldson wrote. “The increased positivity rates have significantly challenged the ability to do so, causing anxiety among many school communities and disruption to the school day.”

The announcement comes as the spread of the new omicron variant threatens to send schools, businesses and governments back to COVID-19 protocols not seen in months.

The U.S. saw over 156,000 cases reported Thursday and over 143,000 the day prior. The last peak in the fall amid the delta wave included daily numbers close to 200,000.

Earlier this month, another school — Middlebury College in Vermont — also announced it would be returning to remote learning after several dozen confirmed cases on campus.