Coronavirus in the United States: New York once again closes its public schools

Due to the coronavirus, New York is once again closing its public schools (Photo: AFP / Angela Weiss).

The mayor of New York, Bill De Blasio, announced this Wednesday the closing of public schools city, attended by 1.1 million students. According to the president, institutes will have to suspend face-to-face classes from Thursday due to the rebound in case of coronavirus in the neighborhood.

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“New York has reached the threshold of an average of 3% of positive tests for seven days. Unfortunately, this means that public school buildings will be closed from tomorrow, Thursday, November 19, as a precaution “, anticipated the city government on Twitter.

Later, De Blasio explained that the return of face-to-face classes will be subject to a reduction in the infection rate, although he warned that the requirements for that to happen will be higher than they were when deciding to shut down.

“We will respond. It’s a stumbling block, but we will overcome it “, assured the mayor of New York at a press conference.

Meanwhile, the district school principal, Richard carranza, specified that from Thursday classes will be offered only remotely until further notice.

As detailed AFP, the measure was quickly questioned by many New Yorkers, who point out that the rate of positive tests at educational institutions since their reopening in September is well below the city average rate.

The decision was also rejected by various sectors who consider it harmful to children and adolescents, and that they characterized it as unfair in a context where eating is still allowed inside bars and restaurants, albeit with reduced capacity.

However, by announcing the measure, the mayor fulfilled the commitment he made with the powerful teachers’ union, with which agreed to shut down establishments if the infection rate reached 3% for seven days.

To date, New York, which was the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States in April and May, records more than 34,000 deaths from COVID-19. Although the city and even the state have a lower positive case rate than most countries, the number is increasing.

Meanwhile, at the national level, the situation is worrying. According to data provided Tuesday by Johns Hopkins University, the United States registered by 15 consecutive days more than 100,000 cases per day, with 161,934 newly infected confirmed. In addition, 1,707 people have died in the past 24 hours.

Thus, the country most affected by the pandemic has accumulated more than 11.3 million infections and exceeds 248,700 deaths from the coronavirus.