WISCONSIN— It's been nearly two years since schools in Wisconsin and across the country first made the move to virtual learning as COVID-19 began to spread. Now, many Wisconsin schools have been forced to shift back temporarily as the spike in the omicron variant has triggered staffing shortages statewide.

"We're talking about things we can do to help at the agency," Dr. Jill Underly, the state superintendent of public instruction, said. "Clearly the mitigation factors of masking, vaccinations, getting tested— that's what's working."

While new projections Thursday showed the current COVID-19 case spike now reaching its peak, Underly said all schools in Wisconsin remain in a wait-and-see pattern to see what comes next.

"We're hearing that we're still in the peak but it will fall off fast," Underly said. "Hopefully it won't go too much into February, but we'll be able to tell based on the kids, absence rates among our teaching staff and our other school staff. We'll be able to tell..."

You can watch the entire interview above.