The Chicago Public Schools (CPS) system reported 417 students and 270 adults had COVID-19 on Tuesday, a new daily case record as the district grapples with canceled classes and returning to school after the holiday break.
Tuesday's infections were double the numbers seen last month before the two-week holiday break, according to data provided by the school system.
Now, the district has a total of 5,178 coronavirus cases among students and 1,988 for adults, while 9,000 students and 2,377 adults were in isolation as of Wednesday evening, the school system said.
CPS also reported that more than 90 percent of teachers and staffers are fully vaccinated.
The record-setting numbers come as Chicago's teachers union voted on Tuesday to teach remotely unless they reached a safety agreement with CPS or the uptick in infections lessened.
But on Thursday, schools in Chicago were closed for the second day after 73 percent of Chicago Teachers Union members voted to switch to remote learning, a move criticized by some school and local leaders.
“We know that our schools are safe. Yes. Do we have challenges across individual schools? Absolutely. Do we respond? Absolutely,” schools CEO Pedro Martinez said at a press conference Wednesday.
“There is no basis in the data, the science or common sense for us to shut an entire system down when we can surgically do this at a school level," Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) has also said of the decision.
Both CPS and the teachers union have filed charges regarding unfair labor against each other, according to The Chicago Tribune.
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