New York City public schools will remain closed for the remainder of the academic year due to the spread of the coronavirus, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Saturday.
“There’s nothing easy about this decision,” the mayor said during a press briefing. The decision confirms that 1.1 million students in the largest school system in the country will go without routine schooling for more than three months this year.
“It will help us to save lives,” de Blasio said during a press briefing at City Hall. “It’s the right decision,” he said.
The mayor said the social distancing strategies in place are working to reduce the spread of the virus.
The city is focusing on reopening in September. It will be “unlike any reopening we have ever seen,” de Blasio said.
