Dr. Bob Lahita: 'I don't really understand' NYC closing schools
St. Joseph University Hospital chairman of medicine reacts to mayor's closure order on 'Your World'
The decision by New York City officials to temporarily close schools to in-person instruction due to an uptick in coronavirus cases makes little sense because "children really are not affected by this virus," Dr. Bob Lahita told "Your World" Wednesday.
"Up to the 12th grade, which is the fourth year of high school, we have like a 99.996 survival [rate], because those children, even if they are infected, do not succumb to the disease," Dr. Lahita, the chairman of medicine at St. Joseph University Hospital in Paterson, N.J., told host Neil Cavuto.
City officials announced that all public schools would be closed beginning Thursday after the average COVID-19 infection rate over the previous seven days exceeded the 3% threshold.
NYC PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO SHUT DOWN THURSDAY OVER COVID SPIKE
"We've always worried about teachers and janitors and other ancillary people who could wear masks, socially distance themselves, surround themselves in fiberglass or whatever else they want to surround themsevles with, and be safe," added Lahita, who went on to say that the people most affected by the closures are parents.
"Parents are stuck, because they can't go to work. Most of these people are not having incomes that would allow them to hire a nanny, a nanny that, I guess, who would wear a Tyvek suit and perhaps a surgical mask and come to work at their home," he went on. "It is a real dilemma, Neil."
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Turning to the national picture of the pandemic, Dr. Lahita noted "extreme spikes" in states like Michigan and Minnesota, as well as "other states in the West, like Utah."
"Things are going to get bad, and they are already bad ..." he said. "So, whatever people are doing, they're not doing it correctly."
Stay up-to-date on the biggest health and wellness news with our weekly recap.