Public school teachers in Chicago will be returning today (January 11th) and students will be back on Wednesday after a deal was reached ending the Chicago Teachers Union work action over concerns about safety amid the omicron-driven Covid surge.

Students’ last day of school had been last Tuesday, after the union voted not to have teachers go in as they wanted a temporary return to remote learning amid the surge, which the city didn’t want. 

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said at an evening news conference, “[W]e reached an agreement on the metrics at a school base level for when we needed to convert a classroom or school to go [to] remote [learning].” Lightfoot also said they’re doing more to increase Covid testing of students.