Schools staying closed

The Hamtramck Public School District has delayed the return of in-person classroom learning for another week. File photo

By Charles Sercombe
Hamtramck Public School students, you’re getting another week to stay home.
The ongoing spread of Covid is forcing the district to extend its stay-home virtual learning for another week.
In a letter to the community, released by Interim Superintendent Nabil Nagi, he said students will be staying at home through next Friday, Jan. 14.
However, Jan. 14 is for HPS staff only, for a training session. And on Jan. 17, the following Monday, schools are closed in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
So the upshot is, students will return on Jan. 18, if everything goes as planned.
“As the pandemic continues to surge, we’re reminded that we must remain diligent in keeping the health of our students, staff and community members our top priority,” Nagi said in the letter.
“We will continue to monitor the cases in our county, and stay updated with the Wayne County Health Department to make informed decisions that best serve our students.”
The number of new Covid cases in Hamtramck exploded to 164 in the last week, according to county health authorities.
HPS students were told to stay home this past week. The district had planned for students to return this Monday.
Hamtramck is one of several school districts in the metro area that has resorted entirely to at-home virtual learning.
Nationwide, the Omicron variant of Covid has caused a massive outbreak of the disease. Many hospitals in the metro area are reported to have run out of bed space for new patients.
Over the past two years, there have been over 3,700 Covid cases in Hamtramck and 63 deaths.
Posted Jan. 7, 2022