New York City schools to remain closed for rest of academic year

New York City public schools will remain closed for the remainder of the current academic year, a decision that would impact the learning of 1.1 million students as the city remains the most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio made the announcement during his briefing on Saturday that schools will not reopen in the current session, which lasts till June.

The new academic year will commence in September.

There's nothing easy about this decision, de Blasio said. Lord knows, having to tell you that we cannot bring our schools back for the remainder of the school year is painful. I can also tell you it is the right thing to do. It will clearly help us save lives.

The announcement will impact more than 1.1 million students in the city's public schools, who will have to go without regular schooling for more than three months. Educators will have to teach students through remote learning for the rest of the 2019-20 school year. The schools were first closed on March 16 as the outbreak worsened in the city and the state.

Roughly 1,800 schools across the city's five boroughs have scrambled to adjust to remote learning since they were initially closed on March 16, a sudden shift that has presented educators with perhaps the largest challenge of their careers.

New York City now has 94,409 coronavirus cases and 25,920 have been hospitalised. More than 5,400 people have died in the city from COVID-19.

New York City Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza expressed confidence that continuing remote learning will help ensure that students, families and the city's school communities "adhere to social distancing in the coming weeks, which is crucial to slowing the spread of the virus, and keeping ourselves and our neighbors safe.

The New York City Department of Education said that our plan is to reopen schools stronger than ever in September, ensuring the safety of our buildings and the resources in place to combat any learning loss and provide emotional support to our students, families and educators as needed to resume learning and reconnect our communities.

It said the system will continue to operate over 400 school-based Meal Hubs, which serve three free meals a day to any New Yorker who needs them, and will continue to ensure child care for the children of essential workers.

We will ensure every high school senior is supported towards graduation, the department said, adding that it will provide one-on-one counseling support to every senior, working closely with schools and families to understand if students are on trackand if not, provide opportunities to help them get there.

The US on Friday reported over 2,100 deaths due to coronavirus, the highest single day fatalities in any country since the outbreak first reported in China's Wuhan in December. Nearly 19,000 people have died in the US as of Friday.