In the past few weeks, the new Omicron variant has swept across southern California, with high numbers of new COVID-19 cases continuing to emerge in Los Angeles County, Orange County, and San Diego County. Many school districts have been hit hard by the COVID-19 surge. The second largest school district in the nation, Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), reported that one in four students were absent last week. However, the rate of students and staff at K-12 schools testing positive for the disease dropped to 11 percent for the week ending on Jan. 15 compared to 15 percent the previous week, said county officials. Meanwhile, deaths reported in Los Angeles County on Jan. 20 were at their highest since March 10, 2021. A total of 102 county residents were reported to have died of COVID-19 on Thursday, more than twice the number reported the previous week. The report also said …