US alarm at rise in child Covid infections sees school closures back on agenda

Omicron threat stokes fears coast to coast but leading public health expert says We know how to keep schools open and safe'

• Guilt and frustration of breakthrough Covid

As US regional health authorities reacted with alarm to a jump in child Covid infections that caused some school districts to announce returns to remote learning, a leading public health official questioned the need for schools to close, saying: We know how to keep schools open, we know how to keep them safe."

Over the past three weeks, as Omicron-related cases soared in New York City and elsewhere, the number of children hospitalised in New York with Covid-19 quadrupled, the state health department said.