Fresno County school district returns to distance learning as omicron variant surges

Fresno County’s Sierra Unified schools shut down its campuses Monday, ordering all students to return to distance learning as the district struggles with teacher and staff shortages during the latest wave of coronavirus infections.

Sierra Unified Superintendent Jordan Reeves made the announcement Monday, saying students would learn from home starting Tuesday and continuing to at least Jan. 18.

“There is a staffing shortage among teachers, transportation, and support staff due to COVID-19 illness,” Reeves said in the statement.

Students can expect to return to the same distance learning plan as last school year.

According to the announcement, all families must “opt-in to short-term independent learning” by signing a master agreement sent home with children on Monday afternoon.

Hospitalizations for COVID-19 infections continued to climb over the weekend in Fresno County and across the central San Joaquin Valley, with hundreds of people receiving inpatient care for the coronavirus and the respiratory disease it causes.

In Fresno County, 305 patients with confirmed cases of COVID-19 were sick enough to require hospital care as of Sunday, according to new data Monday from the California Department of Public Health. That’s an increase of 58% from seven days earlier, when 193 coronavirus patients were in hospitals across Fresno County.

This story was originally published January 10, 2022 at 2:50 PM.