COVID-19 omicron variant surge impacting city schools

Health officials said the seven-day average for new cases has tripled in the last month while all boroughs remain in high transmission.

News 12 Staff

Dec 17, 2021, 10:44 AM

Updated 1,030 days ago

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With daily COVID-19 cases surging in the city as the omicron variant spreads quickly, the city’s schools are now being impacted and some are even shutting down.
P.S. 18 is one of the two schools in the Bronx implementing a 10-day closure.
On Thursday, there were more than 3,600 new COVID-19 cases in the city with 142 new hospitalizations.
Health officials said the seven-day average for new cases has tripled in the last month while all boroughs remain in high transmission. They also said the omicron variant is spreading quickly through the five boroughs and that it may soon overtake delta as the dominant variant.
In the Bronx, the communities with the highest positivity rates are Throgs Neck and Country Club. In Brooklyn, it's Gerritsen Beach, Homecrest and Sheepshead Bay.
According to the New York City Department of Education, the school systems saw 592 new cases on Thursday, 371 of which were students.
The closure at P.S. 18 in Melrose starts today. Parents were notified of the closure on Thursday. The school is the third one in the city to shut down because of COVID-19 cases since the school year began.
Eximius College Prep Academy also closed last week, and will be able to return to the classroom on Monday.
Mayor Bill de Blasio and the city’s health officials are strongly urging people to get vaccinated to fight this surge, especially ahead of the holidays.
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