Earlier today Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that public and private schools in COVID-19 hotspot clusters – those exceeding 3% infection rate – will not reopen tomorrow for in-person instruction.
He blamed the decision on lack of enforcement of current rules to contain COVID-19 in the city, by the city, and said Mayor Bill de Blasio should have brought the plan to contain the spread within these clusters the state before going public with it on Sunday to avoid additional confusion for local parents and businesses.
Racial Justice Giving Is Booming: 4 Trends
As it stands, all public and private schools in the following 9 zip codes will not reopen tomorrow: 11691, 11219, 11223, 11230, 11204, 11210, 11229, 11415, 11367. The great majority of these zip codes are in Brooklyn.
While no exact numbers were mentioned by officials as to how many schools are to close, we do know that the closures will affect some of the biggest schools in the city – Midwood High School (4,000+ students, 11210 zip), Madison High School (3,600+ students, 11229), John Dewey High School (over 2,200 students, 11223), Murrow HS ( 3,700+ students, 11230), FDR HS (3,000+ students, 11204). Brooklyn School of Inquiry (Brooklyn’s only citywide G&T school), also in 11204 will close, in addition to hundreds of other public and private schools.
Some of the conversation at the governor’s press conference centered on the lack of meaningful data and lack of testing data for schools in particular (something that reporters across the city’s news outlets have been frustrated with). The city’s plan for testing and tracing at schools did not provide for a plan on what to do in high infection rate zip codes.
Source: Hundreds of Brooklyn Schools Ordered to Close Tomorrow In COVID19 Hot Spots
