New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Friday that schools will remain closed through the end of the academic year, saying that opening schools while maintaining social distancing would be impossible.
“We don’t think it’s possible to do that in a way that would keep our children and students and educators safe,” Cuomo said in his Friday press briefing.
Schools were initially slated to remain closed until May 15, but Cuomo said earlier in the week that he would issue a determination regarding reopening public and private schools, as well as colleges, which closed their doors in mid-March. Summer school may not open either, Cuomo said, but the state government will come out with a decision by the end of May.
“Again, nobody can predict what the situation is going to be three, four weeks from now. We’re trying to stage decisions at intervals that give us the information but also enough time for people to make the preparations they need to make,” Cuomo said.
He said at the start of Friday’s briefing that new hospital admissions have declined to the 900s this week, having previously been 1,000 to 2,000. The number of new deaths have also declined significantly, hitting a new low of 289.
