Mayor De Blasio Says: Schools Will Open Tomorrow, For Now

    After hinting that all 1,700 public schools could be closed tomorrow, this morning Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted, “Thankfully, schools will remain open on Monday, but we have to keep fighting with everything we’ve got.”

  Mayor de Blasio has long said that if the citywide seven-day rolling average of COVID-positivity exceeds 3%, he will close the schools, and currently, that number is at 2.57%.

   On Friday at a press conference, Gov. Andrew Cuomo appeared to question the mayor’s use of New York City’s average COVID-positivity rate to determine when to close the schools.

  Instead, Gov. Cuomo proposed that cities consider individual schools’ infection rates and only close the schools that exceed 3% COVID positivity.

   “I would hope the mayors, the teachers, and the parents work together to open the schools as quickly as possible,” the governor said on Friday. “The infection rate in the schools is not the problem, it is really low.

   The high COVID rate, Governor Cuomo said, is coming from the bars, restaurants, and gyms, and what he called “the living room family spread,” or family members who transmit the virus to each other.

 “If you do close schools, I would urge the mayor and all involved to open them as quickly as possible,” said Gov. Cuomo, who thought perhaps the 3% number should be an infection rate that is assessed in the individual schools.

   “I get the parameter of 3%, but how about an indicator of spread in the schools themselves?” Gov. Cuomo asked. “I suggest the mayor, the teachers’ union and the parents consider that [approach.] If the schools were open, it would be better.”

Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.