Gov: City slow on schools plan
Gov. Cuomo called out the city Saturday for not releasing its schools reopening plan sooner, saying parents concerned about coronavirus and other issues need enough time to weigh in on the proposal.
“I’m disappointed New York City did not have their plan (in) on time,” Cuomo said. “The reason we need the school districts to put in their plans is because parents need to review the plan, understand the plan, and they have to have confidence in the plan.”
“That was the point of this pre-opening period … parents get to ask questions,” he added. “This is a cooperative decision where it’s the parents’ choice (to send their children to school). It’s not the school districts’ choice … This is supposed to be more of a dialogue.”
The city rolled out its plan on Thursday for how it will handle positive COVID-19 cases in reopened school buildings. Part of the proposal — which requires state approval — includes shutting down classrooms and transferring to remote learning if students or staff in the same classroom get sick.
“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,” Mayor de Blasio said on Thursday.
Cuomo’s comments came on the five month-anniversary of the first case of coronavirus in New York — and as officials continue to ramp up efforts to stamp out the disease, including more testing and issuing violations to establishments that flout social distancing rules.
There were 82,737 COVID-19 tests in New York on Friday — the most conducted in a single day in the state, Cuomo said. Of those tests, 753 — 0.91% — were positive. Four New Yorkers died from the virus on Friday, while 581 people were hospitalized.
The state also doled out 41 violations on Friday to establishments that defied social distancing rules. Twenty-seven of those violations were in Manhattan.