Education

New York City public schools to reopen for in-person learning


New York City’s public schools will begin to reopen for in-person learning on 7 December , starting with elementary schools, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Sunday.

The schools were closed less than two weeks ago after the citywide rate of coronavirus tests coming back positive exceeded a 3% benchmark agreed to by the mayor and teachers’ union.

De Blasio said it was “paramount” to reopen school buildings to recover from Covid-19.

The move to close the schools had stoked anger among parents hard-pressed to balance working from home with the demands of schooling and childcare.

Around 300,000 of 1.1 million pupils in the New York City public schools system had been attending some form of in-person learning since the mayor began reopening schools in September, following months of fully remote learning after the city became a global coronavirus hotspot in the early spring.

Cases in New York state have been rising again. The state’s positive test result rate was the highest recorded in more than six months on Saturday, at just under 4%, though experts warned the holidays might impact data.

There are hotspots in Staten Island and in Buffalo.

Reuters contributed to reporting



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