Gov Cuomo slams de Blasio's plan to close NYC schools which have just a 0.17% COVID positive rate and blames bars for spread as the Big Apple hits 2.83% test positivity rate
Governor Andrew Cuomo slammed New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Friday for a plan that suggested the city's schools could close from as early as Monday.
Cuomo said that the rising infection rates in NYC had nothing to do with the schools being open but linked with bars and restaurants.
'The problem is not coming from the schools,' Cuomo fumed during a conference call with reporters. 'It's coming from the bars, the restaurants, the gyms and the living-room family spread.'
'I would hope that the mayor and teachers and parents work to open the schools, if you close them, as quickly as possible.'
Yet the governor, who ultimately has the decision to decided whether schools remain open or not, said that he would not block De Blasio's plan to send students home if the Big Apple's infection rate reaches three percent.
As of Friday, the Big Apple hit 2.83 percent test positivity rate - even though schools only have 0.17 percent positive test rate.
Governor Andrew Cuomo (left) slammed New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (right) on Friday for a plan that suggested the city's schools could close from as early as Monday
Cuomo reinforced his opposition to the school closures on Twitter were he said that the 'data is clear' and 'living room spread' if the main cause of transmission
He left the decision with local school districts on whether or not to close, provided their thresholds fall fall within the parameters set by the state.
NYC is well below the 9 percent mark Cuomo set for closure and the 5 percent mark he set for the initial reopening a few months ago.
Despite this, NYC parents are being told to prepare for school closures from Monday because the city's coronavirus test positivity rate has crept back up to 2.83 percent, even though it is only 0.17 percent in schools.
Mayor Bill de Blasio made the announcement on Friday morning and told parents to 'come up with a plan'.
'People should get ready. Parents should have a plan for the rest of the month of November.
'I think that's the safe way to think about it, have an alternative plan beginning as early as Monday,' he said during an appearance on the Brian Lehrer radio show.
While Cuomo said he would not block the plan, he encouraged city officials to establish a new metric for school shutdowns that was based on virus transmission within the schools themselves instead of the infection rates of their surrounding communities.
He reinforced his opposition to the school closures on Twitter were he said that the 'data is clear' and 'living room spread' if the main cause of transmission.
Cuomo was referencing people who have others not from their household in their homes, claiming it is the 'big reason why COVID is surging' rather than transmission between students.
The governor, who has intervened with de Blasio's closure plans in the past, already limited gatherings in private residences to 10 people this week in an effort to combat the spread.
He also took a hit at those still holding large gathering saying that is where 'COVID thrives'.
'Here's how dangerous it is. 7 people who DID NOT even attend a wedding in August died,' the governor added.
De Blasio is expected to face backlash if he moves forward with the plan to close classrooms despite data showing that transmission of the virus in schools has been remarkably low - with a positivity rate of just 0.17 percent.
Cases and hospitalizations are going up and deaths but deaths aren't spiking in New York City
'This is not something any parent wants to have to deal with but we should get ready and parents should have a plan for the rest of the month of November,' de Blasio said on WNYC, stressing that a citywide school shutdown did not have to be inevitable.
'Have an alternative plan for beginning as early as Monday for whatever will help them get through this month if school is not open.'
NYC's Education Chancellor Richard Carranza also sent a letter to principals Thursday asking them to prepare for that potential reality.
'Out of an abundance of caution, and to keep our school communities safe, I am asking all schools to be prepared for a brief time of fully remote learning, system-wide,' he said.
'And while no decision has been made about a system-wide transition to remote learning, as every great school leader knows, we must be prepared for every scenario.'
The debate rages on about which will take a bigger toll: keeping kids in the classroom as cases climb, or locking them at home where their education could suffer and forcing their parents to stay home to care for them, rendering them unable to go to work.
At the worst of the pandemic, almost 70 percent of the people being tested in New York City were positive with the virus.
While there has been an uptick in cases, there has not been an uptick in deaths or hospitalizations.
Despite disagreeing with de Blasio on schools, Cuomo has also raised alarm about a deadly second wave as the statewide positivity rate reached 2.9 percent.
He announced Friday that he is holding an emergency summit with five other Northeast governors this weekend to discuss next steps and try to align strategies, according to NBC New York.
'We are in the midst of a sea of COVID rising around us. You look at the international numbers and they are frightening,' Cuomo said Friday.
'Look at states around the country and the numbers are all going up quickly. You cannot defy reality - and reality is the virus transmits and the virus is mobile and we're in the holiday season. These are all elements that conspire to increase COVID. The numbers are going up. The numbers will go up. I take that as a fact.'
On Wednesday, he ordered that all bars and restaurants across the state must close at 10pm starting on Friday.
The statewide COVID-19 rate increased to 2.9 percent on Wednesday - the highest it has been for months - fueled by spikes in specific regions shown above
Cuomo has ordered that all bars and restaurants across the state must close at 10pm starting from Friday in effort to stave off the 'second wave' of COVID-19, even though deaths and hospitalizations in New York City are steady.
He is also limiting gatherings in private residences to 10 people, and say he may reduce the capacity restaurants and bars can have indoors if numbers continue.
It is the latest indicator of a looming lockdown.
The statewide COVID-19 rate increased to 2.9 percent which is the highest it has been for months and deaths are increasing in some parts of the state but not all.
In New York City, deaths have been holding steady despite the rising infection rate.
It is a trend being seen across the country; the US has now hit a record number of coronavirus hospitalizations amid the pandemic with nearly 62,000 Americans currently being treated.
There were 61,964 people being treated for COVID-19 in hospitals nationwide on Tuesday, according to COVID Tracking Project data.
But Cuomo on Wednesday issued an order for the entire state and said anyone who doesn't comply with it will receive a summons ordering them to shut down.
'Losing money hurts but money can be replaced. Losing a loved one is forever.
'If the lights are on and people are drinking, they get a summons,' he said.
It delivers yet another blow to the restaurant and bar industry which was only allowed to resume indoor dining at a 25 percent capacity last month after being ignored for months.
Similar measures were also taken in the past week in New Jersey and Connecticut.
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