Tough love vowed vs. school bugs

Positive coronavirus tests in city schools this fall will trigger closures of classrooms or whole school buildings while investigators from the city’s Test and Trace Corps probe for evidence of a wider outbreak, officials announced Thursday night.

“We are doing everything in our power to keep kids healthy while ensuring they are getting the education they deserve. These rigorous test and trace protocols will keep our students and staff safe as we start off this new school year,” said Mayor de Blasio.

How city schools will respond to positive COVID cases is a lingering question in the city’s complex reopening plan. The plan, if approved by state officials, would send kids to school in-person on some days while maintaining remote learning on the other days.

Officials say the new regulations will provide clear ground rules for schools dealing with positive cases. Parents, students and staff can self-report positive coronavirus tests to school officials, who will relay the information to the test and trace corps.

If students or staff in the same classroom get sick, that classroom will shut down and transfer to remote learning while disease detectives investigate, and the classroom will remain closed for 14 days after the investigation.

If at least two people in different classes but the same school get sick, the entire building will be shut down for an investigation. The buildings will remain shut for 14 days if investigators can’t pinpoint where and how the cases were transmitted. If they do track down the links, only the classrooms of the infected students or staff will close for two weeks.

Education officials said the Test and Trace investigations usually last between one and three days. Families will be contacted by 6 p.m. each night about whether the school will be open the next day, officials added.

City schools staffers are expected to get a COVID test in the days leading up to the September 10 start of classes.