NEW YORK – New York City is shuttering schools to try to stop the renewed spread of the coronavirus, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday in a painful about-face for one of the first big U.S.
school systems to bring students back to classrooms this fall. The nation's largest public school system will halt in-person learning Thursday, the mayor said in a tweet.“Please note that this is a temporary closure, and school buildings will reopen as soon as it is safe to do so,” Department of Education Chancellor Richard Carranza said in a letter to parents.The city had said since summer that school buildings would close if 3% of all the coronavirus tests performed citywide over a seven-day period came back positive.