CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The head of the Chicago Public Schools system said CPS is making headway towards making schools as COVID-safe as possible.
Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez said more than 13,000 students and 1,100 staff members are under COVID quarantine this week, but it's expected, he said, because of the Omicron variant’s high transmissibility.
Martinez said the district is now doing 17,000 COVID tests per day, and getting more parents to sign their children up for tests.
"Prior to break, we had reached 40,000 consents with students. We have now doubled that number to 80,000. The vast majority of that increase has been unvaccinated students," Martinez said.
More than 111,000 CPS students are fully vaccinated, while more than 146,000 have received at least one dose.
"Over 53 percent of our children are now vaccinated. We finally reached over the 50 percent mark, but it’s still moving too slow," Martinez said.
Additionally, KN95 masks will start being distributed by the end of the month.
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