New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that schools may reopen in the fall, but school districts will decide whether classes are held in-person or over the computer.
“Every region is well below our COVID infection limit; therefore, all school districts are authorized to open,” Cuomo said Friday.
Cuomo authorized schools to reopen for in-person instruction as the state’s infection rate has been reduced to about 1%. The state was the coronavirus epicenter just four months ago but has stabilized in recent months.
The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in New York on Aug. 6 was 579, compared to the peak on April 12 of 18,825 hospitalizations statewide, according to New York state health data.
“If the infection rate spikes, the guidance will change accordingly,” he added.
New York’s 700 school districts are among the relative few that will be permitted to return to in-person instruction. Under Cuomo’s order, schools can decide to open buildings and campuses as long as they are in a region of the state where the average test positivity rate is below 5%, a threshold determined by the World Health Organization to be the safest for all reopening measures.
