By Gabriella Borter
(Reuters) – New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Thursday doubled down on his commitment to reopen schools for in-person learning next month, a day after the city’s teachers union said his reopening protocol was insufficient to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The mayor and schools chancellor Richard Carranza released a “Back to School pledge” outlining the features of their reopening plan, including that all schools will have a 30-day supply of personal protective equipment at all times and schools will close if the percentage of positive COVID-19 tests in the city is 3% or more on a 7-day average.
New York City schools, which make up the largest school district in the U.S., are slated to open Sept. 10 for a blend of in-person and remote learning.
“We are going to make sure these schools are safe and ready. And if we don’t think they’re safe and ready, they won’t reopen,” de Blasio said on Thursday.
Compared to De Blasio’s threshold of a 3% COVID-19 infection rate for schools to shut down again, the city’s positive test rate on Thursday was 0.88%.
New York City teachers on Wednesday threatened to strike or bring legal action unless the city government addresses specific safety demands like a more rigorous COVID-19 testing plan and protocols for isolating students who show symptoms of the virus.
“The minute we feel that the mayor is trying to force people in to a situation that is unsafe… we go to court, we take a job action,” said Michael Mulgrew, president of the union representing the city’s 133,000 teachers, adding that a “job action” could include a strike.
The union did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the mayor’s pledge on Thursday.
“Now it’s time to say, public servants, rise to the occasion and answer the call,” de Blasio said of the teachers.
The mayor’s school reopening plan “encourages” teachers to get tested for COVID-19 monthly and promises that the city’s testing sites will expedite results for city school staff.
If at least two COVID-19 cases are confirmed in different classrooms at a school, the mayor’s plan calls for the school to be closed for 14 days. If 1 or 2 linked cases are recorded in the same classroom, then only that classroom must close for 14 days.
“Schools will communicate to all families and students at school once a case is laboratory confirmed,” the NYC Department of Education website states.
(Reporting by Gabriella Borter; Editing by Alistair Bell)
