Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced that she has tested positive for COVID-19.
“Earlier today, I tested positive for COVID-19,” the mayor tweeted. “I am experiencing cold-like symptoms but otherwise feel fine which I credit to being vaccinated and boosted. I will continue to work from home while following the CDC guidelines for isolation.”
The news comes one day after reaching a provisional deal with Chicago public school teachers over COVID-19 protocols in schools. The city has suffered from a massive surge in numbers. The teacher’s union stepped in after teachers tried to switch to remote learning instead of in-class instruction. The city responded by canceling classes and locking teachers out of online classes.
The city took things a step further by withholding the pay of teachers who refused to come to school.
After teachers tried to switch to remote learning, classes were canceled and teachers were locked out of online platforms and had their pay withheld for days they didn’t come to school in person.
“This has been a very unpleasant experience,” union president Jesse Sharkey told CBS Chicago. “The [union] felt like we were asking for a set of reasonable things – obviously as teachers who have been in buildings since the beginning of the school year.”
The union’s governing body voted 63% to 27% in favor of ending the remote work action.
The district said it would allow more incentives for substitute teachers, provide KN95 masks for all teachers and students, and that Illinois would provide about 350,000 antigen tests.
“Some will ask who won and who lost,” Lightfoot said at the time. “No one wins when our students are out of the place where they can learn the best and where they’re safest. After being out of school for four days in a row, I’m sure many students will be excited to get back in the classroom with their teachers and peers. And their parents and guardians can now breathe a much-deserved sigh of relief.”
