MAY 01, 2020: Gov. Cuomo on Friday ordered all schools in New York to remain closed for the rest of the academic year and warned that conventional classroom learning may not even be back in time for the fall semester, as the coronavirus crisis continues to wreak havoc on society.
Speaking during his daily COVID-19 briefing in Albany, Cuomo said his team had determined there’s simply no way to safely reopen schools before the spring semester ends June 26.
“How do you operate a school that’s socially distanced with masks, without gatherings?” Cuomo said. “We don’t think it’s possible to do that in a way that would keep our children and students and educators safe, so we’re going to have the schools remain closed.”
Schools have been shuttered since the coronavirus pandemic struck New York with deadly force in mid-March.
Cuomo’s edict will impact 4.2 million K-12, college and university students.
The governor said universities, colleges and some K-12 schools will continue remote learning programs through the spring semester.
School officials have already inquired about the possibility of holding summer classes, Cuomo said.
He didn’t sound optimistic about the prospect, but promised to make a decision by the end of the month.
Looking ahead, Cuomo said schools should start “preparing plans” for the fall semester with COVID-19 in mind. He suggested it will be a daunting task.
“This bizarre setup here, right? Look at this room. How do you run a school like this?” Cuomo said, gesturing toward face mask-clad reporters in the room sitting at least six feet apart.
“He wants to close them until June, and we may do that, but we’re going to do it in a coordinated sense with the other localities,” Cuomo said at the time.
Cuomo’s change of heart came as another 289 New Yorkers died from the virus between Thursday and Friday morning — down from 306 deaths in the preceding 24-hour period. The state’s total death toll now stands at 18,321.
Despite the horrific death tally, net daily hospitalizations and intubations continue to trend downward, Cuomo said.
The number of new confirmed cases per day remains stagnant around 1,000, Cuomo said. An overwhelming majority of new cases a
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
