UWS School Temporarily Closed After 2nd Coronavirus Positive

Upper West Side NY

23 September, 2020

11:31 AM

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UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — A second employee at an Upper West Side public school tested positive for the coronavirus, forcing the school to shutter temporarily, the city announced Tuesday. The two staffers work at P.S. 165, the Robert E. Simon School, on 234 West 109th Street. The school was closed for an initial 24-hour period while investigations were conducted for any reason the virus was able to spread. However, the investigation concluded, and the school reopened Tuesday. The close contacts for both coronavirus-positive staffers must quarantine, according to city guidelines. The second positive case at the Upper West Side school was one of 14 new coronavirus cases that the Department of Education (DOE) announced Tuesday in which the staffer had reported to the school building. The two cases come after staff returned to school buildings on Sept. 8 to prepare for the school year, which has started remotely in most places, and in-person on Sept. 21 for the youngest children in the NYC public school system. Robert E. Simon was the only school in Manhattan to have two positive cases among its staffers. The DOE also announced confirmed COVID-19 cases at seven city school buildings where the employee who tested positive had not been present in the building. Older New York City public school students, including those who go to Robert E. Simon, will begin arriving back at buildings on Sept. 29 in a phased-in reopening through Oct. 1. READ MORE: In-Person NYC School Reopening Delayed Again For Most Students