Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Monday plans to reopen New York schools in regions of the state with a coronavirus infection rate of less than 5 percent, and also said he would sign an executive order to collect personal information from those traveling to the States since parts of the United States consider COVID-19 hot spots.
The Empire State’s executive director said the decision will be made the first week of August about whether public schools can accommodate students after campuses closed in mid-March due to the pandemic.
“Common sense and intelligence can still determine what we do, even in this crazy environment,” Cuomo told reporters. “We are not going to use our children as guinea pigs.”
A region has to be in Phase 4 of its reopening and have an infection rate of less than 5 percent on a 14-day moving average.
Schools, after a restart, will have to close if a 7-day infection rate reaches 9 percent, according to the governor.
New York City officials last week launched plans to bring students back to the nation’s largest school system this fall, but only for two to three days a week, though the governor will still have the last word on when will campuses reopen in all five boroughs.
“We are not going to use our children as litmus test,” Cuomo said. “We are not going to put children in a place where their health is in danger.”
In the first wave of the pandemic in the U.S., New York and its neighboring states were hardest hit by COVID-19. But in the past few weeks, the Northeast has generally reduced the rate of infections and deaths.
New York, New Jersey and Connecticut joined together last month to ask visitors from states considered coronavirus hotspots to remain in quarantine for 14 days.
Cuomo put a few more teeth into that standard on Monday, saying he would sign an executive order for out-of-state travelers to provide contact information when entering New York. Travelers who do not provide such contact information could face a $ 2,000 fine.
