Thousands back to NYC classrooms under new rules

NEW YORK - The 3-K, Pre-K and K-5 students were back in New York City's public school classrooms for in-person learning on Monday, tweeted Mayor Bill de Blasio, while urging families to sign their testing consent forms so that the schools can be kept safe and the students healthy.

It comes nearly three weeks after the city shut down schools over rising positivity rates. The mayor has decided students can return as long as the positivity rates in the schools remain low.

NYC's COVID-19 infection rate on a seven-day average went up to 5.12 percent, compared with 5 percent one day earlier, de Blasio tweeted on Sunday.

The rate has been above 3 percent since Nov 18, topped 4 percent for the first time on Nov 30, and then surpassed 5 percent on Dec 3. Three percent is deemed by the municipal government as a threshold for a second wave of the pandemic.

"Reopening our buildings is paramount to our city's recovery from COVID-19," said de Blasio on Nov 29, while announcing the reopening plan for the first time. "That's why we are doubling down on the safety and health measures that work to make in-person learning a reality for so many of our students."

By the time students return to buildings on Monday, a consent form for testing will be required for all students and staff, and every school will participate in weekly random testing for 20 percent of their in-person population. Parents can fill out the consent form online using a New York City Schools Account (NYCSA) at mystudent.nyc or print and sign the form and bring it to school on their first day back to buildings.

Meanwhile, in the case of COVID-19, the safest place in the community is truly the school, and that's because schools follow basic rules, said New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo in his article posted on the news portal Newsday on Dec 4.

"The students and teachers wear masks. They practice social distancing. They frequently wash their hands. Many of the students are serious about doing their part to keep their friends and families safe," said the governor, adding that the infection rate in schools in every part of the state is lower than the surrounding community.

NYC's public school system consists of approximately 1.1 million students, constituting the largest school district of the country. Those who opted not to return to their campus for in-person learning on Monday were allowed to fulfill their curriculum in the form of remote learning.

As of Sunday night, coronavirus deaths added up to 24,365 and confirmed cases to 331,006 in NYC, according to The City, a project that tracks the spread of confirmed COVID-19 infections and fatalities in New York City, based on information provided by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the governor's office, The COVID Tracking Project and the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.