Parents scramble after NYC closes public schools

Parents scramble after NYC closes public schools

FILE- In this Sept. 29, 2020, file photo, adults escort children for in-person classes outside Public School 188 in New York. New York City is shuttering schools to try to stop the renewed spread of the coronavirus, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020. The action is a painful about-face for one of the first big U.S. school systems to bring students back to classrooms in the fall. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City’s mayor says he’s shuttering schools to try to stop the renewed spread of the coronavirus. It’s a painful about-face for one of the first big U.S. school systems to bring students back to classrooms this fall. The mayor and schools chancellor announced Wednesday that school buildings will close Thursday. 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. The mayor says the city has now hit that mark. The city’s more than 1 million public school students will now be taught entirely online, as most already are.

Photo:  (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)