WORLD NEWS – CALIFORNIA – New York City schools are closing again as the city battles the virus

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Members of the Orthodox Jewish community wait for school buses to pick them up in the Borough Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, Thursday, October. 8, 2020. (AP Photo / John Minchillo)

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Wednesday, in a painful change to one of the first senior officials in New York City, that New York City is closing schools in an effort to stop the spread of the new Corona virus.. s. School regulations to return students to the classroom this fall.

The mayor said the nation’s largest public school system will halt personal learning Thursday, sending more than a million children into online classrooms. .

The Democrat said at an afternoon news conference that plans were in place to re-learn in person as quickly as possible if the infection rate fell, although he warned that the barrier to return would be higher than it was at the close.. . He added that schools would definitely remain closed during Thanksgiving.

De Blasio said that increasing virus testing for children in schools will be a component of the return plan and that parental consent for this test will be required for pupils hoping to return..

De Blasio said: « We will resist this. ». “This is a setback, but it is a setback that we will overcome.

He couldn’t be beat soon enough for Darnes Foster. She has four children, ages 4 to 13, who are now set to learn from home.

Foster, a former pharmaceutical advertising worker who quit her job a few years ago when he was one of her kids, said the springtime in town for online learning was « really horrible » for the family, who share a one-bedroom apartment in upper Manhattan. Health problems.

« Now, I really want my kids to catch up with what’s happening, and I’m one person, » she said.. She said she would « look at the sunny side and endure it for a few weeks », hoping the schools would reopen soon.

The city has said since summer that school buildings will close if 3% of all coronavirus tests conducted citywide over seven positive days come in.. With the rate approaching that point last week, de Blasio advised parents to prepare for a possible shutdown.

The mayor said the rate is equal to that mark as of Tuesday. In fact, a review of previous city data showed that it has likely been above this threshold since November. 11.

The city’s public school students will now be taught entirely online, as is most of them already. As of the end of October, only about 25% of students had attended class in person this fall, which is far fewer than officials expected..

Some parents and city officials have pressed hard on the mayor to take other measures first before returning to closing schools, such as ending eating at an indoor restaurant or asking unnecessary businesses to close.

“It is a dismal failure of the leadership to allow our schools to close before we control the spread of the virus in indoor restaurants, bars, gyms, worship and other gatherings.. City councilor Brad Lander said in a statement that schools should be the last things to close, not the first..

The school system in New York City, like others across the country, initially halted personal learning in mid-March as the virus rose.. Personal school resumed in September. 21 for pre-kindergarten and some special education students. Primary schools opened in September. 29th and high schools October. 1. To keep students spreading, the city offered only part-time personal learning.

Even with the school system remaining open, nearly 1,500 classrooms were temporarily closed after students or staff tested positive, and officials began enforcing local closures in neighborhoods as coronavirus cases were rising rapidly..

As of midweek, more than 2,300 public school students or employees have tested positive since the start of the school year.

While many U. s. School districts decided to start the fall semester with online learning, and de Blasio pushed for school doors to open. The Democrat argued that students needed the services they received at school and that many parents were dependent on them in order to return to work.

The date for the reopening was originally set for September. 10, was postponed twice as teachers, school administrators, and some parents said safety precautions and staff were insufficient, with the teachers union at one point threatening to strike.

The city has approved the changes, including hiring thousands of other teachers and testing 10% to 20% of all students and staff monthly for the virus..

When high schools finally opened their doors, de Blasio hailed it as a « very wonderful moment » in the town’s recovery..

Wednesday’s announcement came out of the city just like the governor of New York. Andrew Cuomo, who has repeatedly rescinded important decisions regarding the pandemic, was ending a press conference in which he said the city has the authority to shut things down if it so desires..

Cuomo predicted a « dramatic spike » in COVID-19 cases after Thanksgiving, as he called on people not to be indulged in a false sense of security during the holiday.

“Your family seems safe, right? Your home looks safe. « Your Thanksgiving dining room table looks safe, » Cuomo told a press conference in the government capital.. “No, you will not be safe. It is an illusion.

Cuomo said that parts of western New York that were subject to less stringent « yellow zone » restrictions are now subject to more restrictive « orange zone » restrictions, with schools moving remotely and « high-risk » businesses like gyms shutting down. .

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New York, School, Bill de Blasio, Coronavirus, Andrew Cuomo