In mere weeks, New York City’s 1.1 million schoolchildren are set to return to classrooms part time.
Reopening public schools on Sept. 10 would not only be crucial for vulnerable students but pivotal in helping to repair the pandemic-ravaged economy, as many parents would be able to return to work.
Still, as we inch toward that date, principals, teachers and others are continuing to raise concerns about the threat of the coronavirus. Mayor Bill de Blasio may be the only big-city mayor attempting some in-person learning this fall, and now he’s facing mounting pressure to delay that plan.
[Getting the virus under control in New York is only the first step to opening schools.]
Here’s the situation in New York City.
The city, no longer an epicenter of the pandemic, is planning a hybrid learning model, with students returning to school for a only few days each week to allow for social distancing. That plan has proved to be a logistical challenge.
Principals, for instance, have said that they don’t know how many students will show up on Sept. 10 because there isn’t a deadline for families to opt in for some in-person classes or all-remote learning.
So far, about 30 percent of families have said they would start the academic year remotely, but that number may change, making it almost impossible to plan class schedules and determine how many teachers schools will need.
My colleague Eliza Shapiro, who covers education, wrote recently that the city’s biggest obstacle is time. Principals have only two work days in September to meet with teachers for staffing decisions, and questions about classroom ventilation and how to test students and faculty members for the coronavirus largely remain unanswered.
“A delayed start to in-person classes is beginning to feel like more of a ‘when’ than an ‘if,’” she said.
Elsewhere, school districts have had a rocky start.
A school district outside of Phoenix temporarily canceled classes after teachers and staff members called out sick to protest in-person schooling.
Near Oklahoma City, an infected student went to school before his 14-day quarantine was over, NBC News reported. Now, dozens of students there are in quarantine.
In Cherokee County, Georgia, more than 2,000 students and staff members were ordered to quarantine because of large numbers of coronavirus cases.
In Los Angeles — home to the nation’s second-largest school system, behind New York City — children started virtual classes on Monday. The district also has an ambitious program to test its 700,000 students and 75,000 employees for the virus.
At universities, things are looking grim.
In New York, many out-of-state college students must quarantine in the state for 14 days before attending classes. That has left families scrambling to find arrangements to do so.
Tanja Chevalier, whose daughter attends Syracuse University, was confused about what do when her home state, Illinois, was added to New York’s mandatory quarantine list. It was too late for her daughter to sign up for on-campus quarantine housing.
“I don’t even know what moves to make,” Ms. Chevalier told my colleague Troy Closson.
Elsewhere, The Times has identified more than 250 cases tied to Greek life at universities across the country. Fraternities have thrown parties, and sorority members at University of Alabama have filled bars.
And at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, officials swiftly called off in-person classes because of outbreaks. The Daily Tar Heel, the student newspaper, wrote in a scathing editorial, “We all saw this coming.”
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Want more news? Check out our full coverage.
The Mini Crossword: Here is today’s puzzle.
What we’re reading
The New York State Liquor Authority has pulled almost 150 licenses from bars and restaurants found to be violating social distancing guidelines. [New York Post]
Andrew M. Cuomo will be releasing a memoir that chronicles his time as New York’s governor during the virus crisis. [Vulture]
A Manhattan Little League is playing under new coronavirus rules. Will it finish the season? [Gothamist]
The Coronavirus Outbreak ›
Frequently Asked Questions
Updated August 17, 2020
Why does standing six feet away from others help?
- The coronavirus spreads primarily through droplets from your mouth and nose, especially when you cough or sneeze. The C.D.C., one of the organizations using that measure, bases its recommendation of six feet on the idea that most large droplets that people expel when they cough or sneeze will fall to the ground within six feet. But six feet has never been a magic number that guarantees complete protection. Sneezes, for instance, can launch droplets a lot farther than six feet, according to a recent study. It’s a rule of thumb: You should be safest standing six feet apart outside, especially when it’s windy. But keep a mask on at all times, even when you think you’re far enough apart.
I have antibodies. Am I now immune?
- As of right now, that seems likely, for at least several months. There have been frightening accounts of people suffering what seems to be a second bout of Covid-19. But experts say these patients may have a drawn-out course of infection, with the virus taking a slow toll weeks to months after initial exposure. People infected with the coronavirus typically produce immune molecules called antibodies, which are protective proteins made in response to an infection. These antibodies may last in the body only two to three months, which may seem worrisome, but that’s perfectly normal after an acute infection subsides, said Dr. Michael Mina, an immunologist at Harvard University. It may be possible to get the coronavirus again, but it’s highly unlikely that it would be possible in a short window of time from initial infection or make people sicker the second time.
I’m a small-business owner. Can I get relief?
- The stimulus bills enacted in March offer help for the millions of American small businesses. Those eligible for aid are businesses and nonprofit organizations with fewer than 500 workers, including sole proprietorships, independent contractors and freelancers. Some larger companies in some industries are also eligible. The help being offered, which is being managed by the Small Business Administration, includes the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. But lots of folks have not yet seen payouts. Even those who have received help are confused: The rules are draconian, and some are stuck sitting on money they don’t know how to use. Many small-business owners are getting less than they expected or not hearing anything at all.
What are my rights if I am worried about going back to work?
What is school going to look like in September?
- It is unlikely that many schools will return to a normal schedule this fall, requiring the grind of online learning, makeshift child care and stunted workdays to continue. California’s two largest public school districts — Los Angeles and San Diego — said on July 13, that instruction will be remote-only in the fall, citing concerns that surging coronavirus infections in their areas pose too dire a risk for students and teachers. Together, the two districts enroll some 825,000 students. They are the largest in the country so far to abandon plans for even a partial physical return to classrooms when they reopen in August. For other districts, the solution won’t be an all-or-nothing approach. Many systems, including the nation’s largest, New York City, are devising hybrid plans that involve spending some days in classrooms and other days online. There’s no national policy on this yet, so check with your municipal school system regularly to see what is happening in your community.
And finally: Passing down a deli
The Times’s Melissa Guerrero writes:
At a moment when small businesses in New York City are closing, Edy’s Grocer has opened its doors for the first time.
Edy Massih, the chef and owner, last week held a sneak preview of the Lebanese grocery and deli in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, helping to raise money for the victims of the Beirut explosion.
Lines wrapped around the corner, he said, and the store sold out of “literally every single thing.”
The green-and-pink space is a spot for drip coffee, riz a jej (a chicken-and-rice dish) and many other Lebanese staples. But it is also a place to find Polish delicacies: The grocery was previously Maria’s Deli, a longtime Polish market owned by his friend Maria Puk.
“Maria’s like a grandmother to me,” Mr. Massih said. He was a regular at Maria’s Deli and had befriended Ms. Puk over coffee.
Mr. Massih, who has appeared on the reality television show “Chopped,” said he had always joked with Ms. Puk about taking over the store when she retired. After the pandemic devastated New York, his catering business slowed down and he more formally proposed the idea to Ms. Puk.
At first she declined, saying she wasn’t ready. But by Memorial Day weekend, Ms. Puk, who is in her 60s, had changed her mind. Soon, she and Mr. Massih were working to create Edy’s Grocer.
The two friends have also bonded over their experience as immigrants: Ms. Puk moved to United States from Poland at age 10; Mr. Massih came from Lebanon at the same age.
She took over the storefront at age 24, and he took it over at 25.
“I’m trying to bring my grandmother’s recipes to life, and I want to keep her recipes alive as well, because she’s been a really big impact in the neighborhood,” Mr. Massih said. “She’s had history here. And I want to keep that history alive.”
It’s Wednesday — dig in.
Metropolitan Diary: Looking out
Dear Diary:
My girlfriend and I were on a D train going from Brooklyn into Manhattan. Next to us in the crowded car was a young man who was standing near the window and looking out.
As we got close to the Manhattan Bridge, a man with a small boy approached the young man and asked whether he could move aside a little so that his son could also look out the window.
“He lives for this,” the father said with a smile.
“Yeah,” the young man said while making space. “Me too.”
He and the boy stood there side by side as we crossed the bridge and watched Manhattan come closer into view.
— Moritz Schäfer
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