Cuomo says 'no decision' on whether New York schools will reopen in the fall after coronavirus closings

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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday a decision has not yet been made on whether schools across the state will reopen this fall after being closed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Cuomo, during a press briefing Monday, said that he has asked New York City and the other 700 school districts in the state to design a plan on what reopening schools in September would look like.

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“But there has been no decision yet as to whether or not we are reopening schools,” Cuomo said, doubling down, noting that there is “no decision on if schools will reopen.”

“We obviously, very much, would like to, no one knows the effect this is going to have on students, the socialization of young students, etc,” he said. “We want kids back in school but we’re not going to say children should go back to school until we know it’s safe.”

He added: “We have some time. This is a very fluid situation. When we get the data, we will make a decision. In the meantime, I’m asking them to come up with a plan, but we don’t yet know if we’re going to reopen.”

Cuomo noted that each district will come up with their own plan, but again stressed: “that doesn’t mean they are reopening.”

“Nuance is sometimes important. Not often, but sometimes,” he said.

New York began closing schools in March as the state became the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. In May, Cuomo announced that the schools would be closed for the remainder of the academic year.

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Meanwhile, Cuomo added that, for now, casinos and movie theaters will remain closed, and state fairs across New York will be canceled for 2020.

As of Monday, New York reported more than 397,000 positive cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic and more than 32,100 deaths.