These 7 Harlem Schools Are Closed Due To Coronavirus Cases

HARLEM, NY — Seven school buildings in Harlem have closed in recent days after reporting positive coronavirus tests, as the city tries to keep its public schools open for young students.

The seven buildings across East, Central and West Harlem all contain elementary schools, which are the only schools that have reopened thus far since a citywide surge in COVID-19 cases shuttered most of the city's public schools in November.

According to the Department of Education's guidelines, school buildings must automatically close pending an investigation when at least two COVID-19 cases linked to each other are confirmed in separate classrooms. The closure is extended to 14 days when the infections occurred outside of school or a link between them cannot be determined.

All building closures are reported on the DOE's online dashboard, which showed more than 71 such shutdowns in effect citywide as of Monday evening.

East Harlem

Three school buildings were closed in East Harlem as of Tuesday. All three shut down starting Monday after reporting multiple cases.

P.S. 146 Ann M. Short on East 106th Street closed for at least 24 hours Monday after cases were reported in separate classrooms on Dec. 14 and on Monday.

P.S. 176 James Weldon Johnson on East 115th Street closed for two weeks starting Monday after cases were reported on Saturday and Monday. And P.S. 112 Jose Celso Barbosa on East 119th Street closed for two weeks after cases in separate classrooms on Saturday.

Central & West Harlem

In West Harlem, P.S. 180 Hugo Newman on West 120th Street closed for two weeks starting Dec. 16 after initially closing a classroom on Dec. 10.

P.S. 125 Ralph Bunche on West 123rd Street closed for two weeks on Monday after confirming cases in four different classrooms starting on Dec. 11, the dashboard shows.

In Central Harlem, P.S. 185 (The Locke School of Arts and Engineering) on West 112th Street closed on Tuesday for at least 24 hours after confirming cases in three classrooms between Dec. 14 and Tuesday. And P.S. 46 Arthur Tappan on Frederick Douglass Boulevard closed for two weeks beginning Friday, after initially closing a classroom on Dec. 14.

The MORE caucus, a branch of the United Federation of Teachers, has raised alarms about rising case numbers since schools reopened. Mayor Bill de Blasio has defended the reopening, pointing out this week that the positivity rate in schools stood well below the citywide average.

"We continue to work in lockstep with public health officials who are clear that in-person learning poses no greater risk of COVID-19 transmission to students and staff and has not been the source of any widespread outbreaks," said DOE spokesperson Nathaniel Styer. "We have the gold standard in safety measures and respond quickly to positive cases in order to stop any potential spread within the school community."

Full coverage: Hundreds Of NYC Schools Under Coronavirus Closures Ahead Of Break