Cuomo: New York schools will remain closed for rest of school year
New York schools and colleges will remain closed and continue distance learning for the rest of the school year, Gov. Andrew Cuomo says. The governor says a decision will be made soon on summer school.
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May 1, 2020, 3:09 PM
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Updated 1,547 days ago
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(AP) - New York’s schools and colleges will remain shut through the end of the academic year because of the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Friday.
The order, which applies to 4.2 million students statewide, continues a shutdown order that was set to expire May 15. Cuomo said it is simply too risky to reopen at a time when the virus is still sending nearly 1,000 people into the hospital every day.
“We must protect our children. Every parent and citizen feels that,” he said.
A decision about whether to allow summer school will be deferred until the end of May, he said. Whenever schools are allowed to reopen, each district would need to have its plan to do so approved by the state.
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The state’s largest school district, in New York City, had already determined it could not reopen before the scheduled end of the school year in June.
Mayor Bill De Blasio had announced April 11 that the city would rely on remote learning through the end of the school year.
At the time, Cuomo had dismissed De Blasio’s announcement as an “opinion,” saying the governor had the power to make decisions on a statewide basis.
Schools nationwide are evaluating whether they will keep schools closed, and even continue remote learning in the fall.
BRIEFING NOTES:
- Cuomo says based on initial trajectory, New York avoided at least 100,000 hospitalizations.
- Cuomo underscores that "what we do now" will impact where the pandemic's outcome goes tomorrow.
- The governor says 1,000 new COVID hospitalizations is still "too high" of an infection rate and says we must drill down and be more targeted in our response.
- The governor says he'll be speaking with hospitals today to get more specific information to have a more specific battle plan - where new cases are coming from, how they are getting infected, etc.
- Cuomo: There were 289 deaths due to COVID-19 yesterday.
- Given the current situation, K-12 school and college facilities will remain closed for the rest of the academic year and will continue to provide distance learning for the remainder of the academic year. There are 4.2 million students in New York state.
- A decision will be made soon on summer school, Cuomo says.
- Any front line worker in need of help, mental health services can be reached at 1-844-997-2121. "There's no shame in reaching out."
- New York is directing insurers to waive costs for mental health service for essential workers.
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