Milwaukee schools going virtual due to staff COVID-19 cases

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Wisconsin's largest school district, Milwaukee Public Schools, will transition to virtual instruction beginning Tuesday because of an increase in staff testing positive for COVID-19.

“MPS was scheduled to resume in-person learning on January 4, 2022, but due to an influx of reported positive COVID-19 cases among district staff, this emergency safety measure is being implemented,” the district said in a statement.

The district says its goal is to return to in-person learning on Monday, Jan. 10.

Students and staff who want to be tested for COVID-19 can do so on Monday, Jan. 3 at six MPS locations. The district says that when in-person learning resumes, testing will be available for students and staff at each MPS school location.

More than 75,000 students attend MPS schools.

The Madison school district also has announced a shift to virtual learning beginning Jan. 6.

U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher, a Green Bay Republican, issued a statement Monday calling virtual classes “the biggest blunder” of the pandemic and urging Wisconsin districts to continue in-person classes.

“So please, at a time when this country seems divided on everything, can we at a minimum agree on the fact that schools must stay open," he said. "We can’t live in fear, or allow this fear to mess up our kids. At this point in the pandemic, we should be trying as hard as we can to teach our kids courage, not fear.