Photo by Allan Foster.
New York City will close its public schools starting on Thursday because the 7-day Covid-19 positivity rate has hit 3%, according to the mayor.
New York City has reached the 3% testing positivity 7-day average threshold. Unfortunately, this means public school buildings will be closed as of tomorrow, Thursday Nov. 19, out an abundance of caution.
We must fight back the second wave of COVID-19.— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) November 18, 2020
Some parents have argued that it doesn’t make sense to close all the schools when some parts of the city — like the UWS — have positivity rates under 2%.
In addition, Covid does not appear to be spreading very much in schools. “To date, we have seen a COVID-19 positivity rate of only 0.19 percent out of more than 120,000 students and staff tested,” Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza wrote.
We need a new mayor. This is just such a terrible idea. Schools are not super spreaders. Its stubbornness and deference to unions. Schools will not go back till next year now. All this does is widen the gap between private schools (which will continue) and public schools
By all means, keep the bars open and serving. But don’t forget to close hundreds of schools with literally zero cases tied to them. And of course, don’t even attempt a surgical approach – hit all of them with the same hammer.
That should help achieve a myriad of societal goals.
“We need a new mayor.”
No, you need new voters. Your current ones elected him in 2013 and 2017.
But yeah Trump
Not me. I voted for Quinn in the primary and didn’t vote for anyone in the General.
So our mayor doesn’t really understand math, and in particular statistics. Makes me wonder why we send kids to school anyway. We could bring the numbers back under 3% by flooding the testing places with parents who know they are negative. We can’t change the numerator (people testing postiive), but we can change the denominator. Every 1,000 peope that test leads to a reduction of about .1%. Get tested, be safe, keep schools open.”
“Every 1,000 peope that test leads to a reduction of about .1%.”
Not exactly. Bad math.
It’s about time. Schools should never have reopened.
I thought masks worked? I thought lockdowns worked? Obviously, neither have worked.
If anyone believes any of these ridiculous and arbitrary rules are actually following science, I feel for you. You are merely sheep being led on the path to full-blown socialism under the guise of Covid.
Here’s the problem — not everyone in NYC is following the mask mandate or the social distancing mandate. There is not 100% compliance. That’s all the virus needs to spread.
We went from being the worst place in the world for COVID to one of the best in the U.S. for months despite all the factors of city life that promote spread. Masks don’t have magic powers; with the rest of the country behaving with the responsibility of rich spring-breakers, we couldn’t stave off a return indefinitely.
Next they are going to tell us the Earth is round!!!!
Those wily scientists are also trying to make us socialists.
Like if speed limits worked, why are there still traffic accidents? If crosswalks worked, why do people still get hit? It is all just socialism…
Seems like masks and distancing worked since schools followed science and there hasn’t been any significant positive cases coming from them.
I’ve seen no data to show this is true.
You should share whatever source you have for this information.
Then why shut them down again? Why?
Wake up, Not A Sheep: public schools are socialist, just like libraries, Medicare, Social Security, etc. You’re doomed!
Baa! Baaaaa!
They chose an arbitrary number and are sticking to it. I was encouraging healthy friends to get tested all week to increase the denominator.
This is so dumb. If they were also shutting down bars, restaurants, gyms, etc. I would be less troubled. But schools, especially elementary schools, should be the last thing to close. Especially on zero notice. Tell us today they are closing effective Monday and it would be a lot less bad. deBlasio continues to outdo himself with his stupidity.
The positivity rate of testing is a ridiculous metric to use. It is not an accurate measure of infection or spread.
For those who sit in doubt & question, the OBVIOUS is true.
Masks work for those who wear them and the others they come in contact with; some still choose not to wear a mask and gather in large groupings spreading the virus.
There are no longer lockdowns, but there are limited amounts of people gathering in restaurants eating without masks.
PLEASE wear a mask! PLEASE stand back 6 feet whenever possible.
It’s not about you.
masks do nothing. If you feel comforted by them please wear them for your own protection, and invest in a N-95 mask or better.
They clearly aren’t shutting down schools because it is a public health crisis or they would be shutting down private schools to. Bottom line it seems De Blasio has let Michael Mulgrew take over as mayer. Maybe he thinks there is a job somewhere there for him after he finally leaves office, because otherwise there is no rational explanation.
This, 100%.
What I’m really wondering is how the teachers’ unions will figure out how to keep the schools closed forever and still get paid. Sounds ridiculous, but railroad unions managed to compel railroad companies to retain stokers, firemen and other employees connected to coal-fired locomotives long after they had all converted to deisel.
The railroads all went bust, but that’s because travelers began to choose had another cheaper and faster option — called “airplanes.”
But parents have no such option. The law compels them to patronize the public school system, unless they are wealthy or determined enough to opt out.
Currently about 18 of my 150 students come in person. I am more than happy to serve those kids, and I am not terribly concerned about getting Covid from them considering the measures we have in place. It does feel a little ridiculous, I’m not going to lie, but fine, whatever, I can sit in a room all day with a solitary masked student, it’s not that big a deal.
The only measure I would really like to insist on is that students should not be allowed to attend in person if their parents refuse permission to test. We have many students whose parents have declined to give permission, and that’s not acceptable to me.
And the tests they are giving, by the way, are… not like other ones I have had. They barely swabbed the inside edge of my nostril and then I never heard back about the results. I guess that means it was negative?
of the 3% positive only 80% will even be symptomatic in adults. and children less so. Patients will remain PCR positive for 3 months although they are infectious for no more than 20 days according to CDC.
The mayor and his advisors are all guaranteed steady income and plenty of food, but the middle class and poor are facing unemployment and actual hunger.
Shame of the mayor and his bad advisors.
Open the city to the young and healthy, and self quarantine the old and infirm.
The upper west side voted for De Blasio. By nifty margins. Twice. You people don’t have the right to complain