NEWTON, MASS. (WHDH) - Some Massachusetts parents are keeping their children home from school this week due to concerns about possible COVID-19 exposure as classes resume following the holiday break.
“We went back and forth several times. On the one hand, obviously not wanting our kids to miss anymore school. On the other hand, we have significant concerns about their exposure with omicron,” said Newton mother Carolyn Rabin.
Rabin says she ultimately sent her kids to school on Monday morning, but pulled them out at lunch time when other students took their masks off to eat.
Natick mother Monica Hernandez chose to keep her kids home from school this week, expressing concerns about students packing into class after a break that involved traveling and gathering with family.
“I think that after Thanksgiving break we got back and there were some exposures in the classroom,” Hernandez said. “Had we just waited that one week, we could have spared ourselves the close contact.”
Natick mother Esther Cohen had no problem dropping her kids off at their school, saying it’s time to “embrace the new normal.”
“It’s worth the risk. We’re vaccinated, we wear masks, we’re boosted,” Cohen explained. “This is the normal…This is our life.”
Hundreds of students across the state got their winter break extended as several school districts delayed their return to school on Monday amid the current COVID-19 surge, but Gov. Charlie Baker celebrated the fact that most districts started classes on time.
During a news conference, Baker called the reopening of schools a “terrifically positive sign about the hard work that so many people around the commonwealth are doing every single day to make sure kids get the education they’re entitled to.”
Local districts have been tasked with determining what counts as an excused and unexcused absence.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)