New York public schools closed until end of school year

Public schools in New York, the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, will remain closed until the end of the school year, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Saturday, but State Governor Andrew Cuomo has quickly replied that he was the sole decision-maker on this issue.

“This decision is not easy,” de Blasio said at a press conference in the morning. But “it will clearly help us save lives.”

However, in the middle of the day, Andrew Cuomo said he alone had “legal authority” to make this decision.

“You can’t make a decision just for New York City, without coordination with the metropolitan area, because everything works together,” the governor explained during his press briefing.

Mr. Cuomo said he understood the mayor’s position. “He wants to close (the schools) until June, and we could do it, but we will do it in coordination with the other cities,” he said.

Freddi Goldstein, a spokeswoman for Mr. de Blasio, noted on Twitter that the two officials, long-time rivals within the Democratic Party, had already opposed the issue of population containment.

“We were right at the time and we are right today”, she said, assuring: “the schools will remain closed”.

The number of deaths linked to the coronavirus continues to rise in New York City and has already reached 5,820 deaths according to Johns Hopkins University, which updates the balance sheets continuously.

But hospitalizations are falling, authorities said.

The closure, effective since March 16, concerns 1.1 million children who have switched to distance education.

The mayor said he decided to keep schools closed after discussing it Friday night with epidemiologist Anthony Fauci, White House adviser on the virus.

According to the municipality, families who do not have the necessary equipment for online courses will be loaned computers and tablets by the town hall. Some 175,000 devices have already been sent to children in the city.

Governor Cuomo had extended the closure of all schools in the state until April 29. More than 170,000 people are infected with the virus in the state, and more than 8,600 have died from it.

With just under 800 dead in the last 24 hours (783 on Friday), the situation is stabilizing “but at a horrific rate,” Cuomo said, adding that this “incredible figure shows incredible loss and suffering. “.

De Blasio also said 6,000 New York adults living in homeless shelters will be transferred to hotels.

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