Hundreds Of NYC Schools Under Coronavirus Closures Ahead Of Break

NEW YORK CITY — A Christmas break from in-person learning started early for students at hundreds of New York City public schools.

Coronavirus closures as of Tuesday have shuttered 1,148 classrooms citywide, according to the Department of Education.

A total of 201 buildings were under 14-day shutdowns and another 71 were closed for 24 hours, the data stated Tuesday.

The closures steadily rose after 3-K, pre-K and kindergarten through fifth graders returned to classrooms amid a citywide spike in coronavirus cases. But they still represent a fraction of roughly 2,850 schools open.

“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.”

Mayor Bill de Blasio said this week the positivity rate in schools stood at 0.7 percent, while citywide it hovered near 6 percent.

“This really emphasizes the point that, arguably, the safest place to be in New York City is in one of our public schools right now,” de Blasio said.

Many students still barely got to settle back into in-person learning before coronavirus closures sent them back home. It appears many won’t return to classrooms until after the winter recess, which runs from Thursday to Jan. 2.

De Blasio said Tuesday that school officials look to get middle schoolers back to classrooms as well after the New Year.

“We're going to start looking at January as a first opportunity for middle school, but it will all depend on what's happening with the larger health care reality and what our health care leadership is saying,” he said. “We've got more work to do, but I am very anxious to get our middle schoolers back as you are. I can't give you a date yet. It's going to need some more time, but my goal is as soon as humanly possible.”