East Harlem School Building Closes Due To Coronavirus Cases

HARLEM, NY — An East Harlem school building became the latest in the neighborhood to be shut down on Thursday after multiple coronavirus cases were confirmed in separate schools within the building.

The P.S. 112 building on East 119th St. near the FDR Drive will be closed for at least 24 hours starting Thursday, according to the DOE's map of active cases.

The first case was confirmed Wednesday in a classroom belonging to P.S. 112 Jose Celso Barbosa, a Pre-K-through-2nd grade school, closing that classroom through Nov. 23.

At least one more case was confirmed Thursday, this time in P.S. 206, a school serving grades 3–8 in the same building. That classroom will be closed through Nov. 20, according to the DOE.

As of Thursday, there were two Harlem school buildings closed because of COVID-19 cases — the other, P.S. 194 Countee Cullen, shut down Nov. 2 and is set to reopen Monday.

The department's safety protocols force school buildings to close pending an investigation when cases are confirmed in separate classrooms within a week of each other. Buildings must stay closed for a full two weeks if a link between the positive cases cannot be determined.

As of Wednesday evening, 15 school buildings around the city were closed due to COVID-19 cases.

A citywide resurgence in coronavirus cases is threatening to shutter the city's school system. As of Thursday, New York's 7-day positivity rate stood at 2.6 percent, inching closer to the 3 percent threshold that would automatically close schools.