Omicron is raging, guidance is constantly changing, vaccines aren't approved for little children and COVID-19 test kits are in short supply. Meanwhile, reliable, affordable child care options are scarce. Centers are canceling classes or closing down altogether as employees call in sick or leave their jobs. Cases are now cropping up at day cares, where internal spread at least used to be somewhat limited. It's hard to quantify just how widespread child care disruptions are. Data are hard to come by because the sector is essentially comprised of a bunch of small businesses. But the statistics that do exist – supported by mounting complaints on social media, flurries of texts between working parents and interviews from around the country – suggest closures are again on the rise after months of relative stability. They're driven by both the surge in COVID cases and staffing issues. 📸: Alie Skowronski, Sam Thomas and Ronald W. Erdrich