Over 1,000 Wichita school workers out because of COVID-19

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — More than 1,000 staff members in the state’s largest school district are in quarantine because of COVID-19, but currently all Wichita schools are open. The Wichita Eagle reports that district records show that nearly 14% of the school district’s staff — some 1,033 people — were off because of COVID-19 illnesses or exposure as of Friday. That is up from 912 and 646 in the previous two weeks. Earlier this month, the district had to temporarily close three elementary schools because of staff shortages as the highly contagious omicron variant of the virus spread across the state.