Here Are The UWS Schools Currently Closed Due To COVID-19 Cases

Upper West Side NY

11 February, 2021

2:56 PM

Description

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — Two school buildings on the Upper West Side currently stand shuttered by coronavirus cases, as the city prepares to welcome back a new cohort of students for in-person learning. Since December, the city's schools have been open only to elementary school students and students in District 75 with learning disabilities. Starting Feb. 25, however, middle schoolers will finally return for in-person classes, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced this week. In the interim, school buildings have continued to close regularly, as they are required to do when at least two COVID-19 cases linked to each other are confirmed in separate classrooms. As of Wednesday evening, the Upper West Side has two schools closed in the neighborhood. The first is P.S. 199 at 270 West 70th Street, which has been closed since Feb. 5 and set to reopen on Monday. The second UWS school building closed is P.S. 75 at 735 West End Avenue, which has been closed since Monday and is set to reopen on Feb. 17. Temporary closures are extended to 10 days when infections occurred outside of school or a link cannot be determined. As of Thursday afternoon, the number of temporary or extended building closures across the city stood at 176 — a significant drop from last month's record high of 373. While the city's virus rates remain far above the 3 percent threshold that first shuttered schools in November, de Blasio and education officials have repeatedly said the city's schools remain remarkably safe. Teachers and other staff will return to buildings on Feb. 24, followed by students the next day. About half of the city's 471 middle schools are slated to reopen immediately, with a large number offering five-day-a-week classroom instruction, Chancellor Richard Carranza said Monday. Patch reporter Matt Troutman contributed.