New York City is closing Public School System after an increase in Coronavirus Cases

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On Wednesday, the New York City officials have announced the closing of public schools. The New York City’s public school system is the largest in the nation, will close and transition to remote learning on Thursday as coronavirus cases continue to climb. Chancellor Richard Carranza wrote a letter to parents and said, “Given recent increases in transmission, we have reached a point in our City’s infection rate that requires all students to transition to remote learning”. Point to be noted that the city has reached its threshold to close the schools: a 3% testing positivity rate over a seven-day rolling average. Mayor Bill de Blasio also tweeted and said. “We must fight back the second wave of COVID-19”.

De Blasio said earlier this week that he would work with the state to reopen schools as soon and safely as possible, but on Wednesday, Governor Andrew Cuomo said the plan for reopening is still unclear. Cuomo delivered his words in a news conference and said New York State’s positivity rate is currently 2.88%. Total hospitalizations remain at 2,202, while 35 people died on Wednesday. He said that no state in the nation has a positivity rate below 2% as COVID-19 cases rise around the country. Johns Hopkins University data shows the United States is leading the global number of cases, with over 11,400,000 positive cases. Cuomo also said that New Yorkers deserve credit for the low positivity rate.

However, Cuomo also cited western New York’s positivity rate as a micro-cluster. He claimed that cases there are spiking because smaller non-city locations that had lower rates earlier in the year failed to feel the painful reality that New Yorkers experienced first-hand. Cuomo implemented a curfew last week, on bars, restaurants, and gyms in the state, forcing them to close by 10 pm. He said most new infections had primarily come from people attending private gatherings in bars, house parties, and restaurants. He also said that there is no plan to temporarily close them. National health experts have also predicted an additional spike in cases. Residents in the New York State are advised to avoid gatherings with family members outside of their bubbles and restrict indoor gatherings to less than 10 people.