NEW YORK — Mayor Bill de Blasio urged New York City public school parents to plan for school closures as early as Monday, as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to surge throughout the Big Apple.
The daily percentage of people testing positive citywide shot up to 3.09% Friday, the highest it's been since June 5, de Blasio revealed Friday. The weekly average of that number, which is the metric the city applies to closing schools, hit 2.83% — just below the city's 3% threshold.
"People should get ready," de Blasio said on Brian Lehrer's radio show Friday. "Parents should have a plan for the rest of the month of November. I think that's the safe way to think about it, have an alternative plan beginning as early as Monday."
In one day the percentage of people testing positive for COVID-19 over a seven-day span shot up from 2.6% to 2.83%. If that trend holds, de Blasio's advice to parents to plan for a citywide school closure will certainly hold as well.
Hitting the 3% closure threshold would not apply to children in pre-K and 3-K programs run by community-based groups, de Blasio noted. Learning bridges programs, which provide free child care for kids in grades 3k to the 8th grade will also remain open if the city exceeds the threshold.
"There are options that will be available if we get to that point," de Blasio said.
The mayor has weathered considerable pushback for his decision to maintain the 3% threshold as the number of coronavirus cases in public schools themselves have remained relatively low.
As the rate of coronavirus transmission climbs in the city, many have also questioned why gyms remain open and indoor dining continues, at least for now, as schools are on the brink of closure.
Several elected officials have jumped on the issue.
"We owe it to our kids to do everything we can to keep schools safe and open," tweeted Comptroller Scott Stringer on Thursday. "That means, right now, we must: 1. Shut down indoor dining. 2. Shut down gyms. 3. Shut down office buildings. 4. Make the city's contact tracing data transparent."
