A father waits with his son to be tested for the coronavirus at Northridge Middle School in Northridge in this undated photo. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)As students return from winter break, schools across California are struggling to stay open amid severe staffing shortages, high student absences and increased infection rates as the Omicron variant surge continues to sweep through the region. The San Gabriel school system has shut down a middle school and high school for Thursday and Friday. Montebello Unified is scrambling to find tests and faces a critical shortage of substitute teachers to fill in for sick staff. And Cathedral Catholic High in Carmel Valley postponed its first day of school from Thursday to Monday because many students and staff tested positive at on-campus testing conducted this week.

Source: Los Angeles Times January 06, 2022 23:06 UTC