NYC schools remain open; virus rate hovers just below shutdown limit

November 16, 2020 Associated Press

Students arrive for in-person classes outside P.S. 188. Photo: John Minchillo/AP File

New York City schools

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city has, so far, stayed under a benchmark of no more than 3 percent of the COVID-19 tests performed in the city coming back positive. The latest figure of 2.77 percent is just under that limit, de Blasio said.

“Today New York City schools are open,” the Democratic mayor said in his daily briefing. “Tomorrow they will be open as well. We’ve got a fight ahead to keep them open. But I’m not giving up and you shouldn’t give up either. Every day that we can keep our schools open is a blessing for our children and our families.”

About 280,000 of the city’s 1 million-plus public school students are attending school in person part of the time, while the rest are learning remotely five days a week.

Since the start of in-person learning, about 980 students and 1,150 teachers and staff have tested positive for the virus, forcing the temporary closure of about 550 classrooms.

Asked if the city should be flexible about the 3 percent threshold, de Blasio said, “We set a standard. We asked everyone to trust it and believe in it. It’s important to keep consistency with that.”

Fight club busted

Deputy New York City sheriffs enforcing COVID-19 crowd limits broke up an amateur fight night event in a Bronx warehouse late Friday, where they said about 200 people crowded together cheering the two combatants.

The unsanctioned fight would have been illegal even before the coronavirus pandemic, but risked becoming a public health threat as infections are rising around the state. The size of the crowd far exceeded the state’s limit on non-essential gatherings of 10 people, authorities said.

Ten fight club organizers and promoters were arrested on charges including liquor law violations and holding an event for a prohibited sport.

Early Saturday morning, deputies broke up an illegal “bottle service club” in Brooklyn where more than 185 people had gathered. Three organizers were charged with misdemeanors.

The same morning a similar bust of another underground club was made in Manhattan, where more than 200 people were gathered. Four organizers were charged.