From Gothamist today:
New York City has closed its second public school due to COVID-19, after an outbreak struck P.S. 166 Henry Gradstein in Queens, on the border of Astoria and Long Island City. The elementary school will now go fully remote for ten days.
Parents learned of the closure Tuesday afternoon via an email sent by the school’s principal Jessica Geller. The closure will go into effect Wednesday morning. WNYC/Gothamist contacted the New York City Department of Education for comment.
According to COVID-19 data compiled by the New York State Department of Health, 19 students and 3 staff have tested positive at the school since November 2nd. The uptick brings Henry Gradstein’s total case count for the current school year to 34, meaning its tally has nearly tripled in the last seven days.
UFT President Michael Mulgrew comments:
“This school would have been closed two weeks ago,” under last year’s criteria, said Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers. “We know the spread is coming from inside that building.”
If Mulgrew knew the spread was coming from inside the building, why didn't he tell his members and the kids to stay out?
We all as union members should NOT be going into these poorly ventilated buildings in solardarity.
ReplyDeleteBased on the policies the city and UFT set forth it's clear the school should have been closed earlier. That is Mulgrew's own admission.
ReplyDeleteHowever, a look beyond the closing of this school is what is the health status of those who have been infected already. Have there been any hospitalizations? Unfortunate deaths? Serious illness? If there hasn't you are going to hear the argument from those who want masks off and everything back to normal because if everyone is getting mild symptoms then this doesn't sound worse then usual seasonal illnesses pre-pandemic.
Why didn’t he tell us to stay out? Because Mulgrew’s top priority has always been and will always be the Democrat Party not the dues paying members. It’s not that complicated.
ReplyDeleteAnd the new Mayor wants to remove masks from our schools surely we will see the uptick every where then just sayin
ReplyDelete3 Banana stupid award for this post. We are already down 5% of kids which is going to reduce funding to the schools. We are looking at a long-term disaster unless we can come back to normal. Parents want the schools open. What part of career Armageddon are you not understanding.
ReplyDeleteWhat part of pandemic do you not understand? Do people have to be hospitalized or on ventilators or dead before we close a building to control spread? Read the article, parents were keeping their kids home before building was closed.
ReplyDeleteShow me the ventilators and the dead. You're hysterical. Breathe into a paper bag. It's been 2 years. We can't go to ground anymore. We gotta work through.
ReplyDeleteFrom the article:
ReplyDeleteKaryn Pavich, whose three children all attend Henry Gradstein, said parents began sharing news of their kids’ COVID symptoms and diagnoses last week. She has kept her kids home from school since their COVID vaccine appointments on Thursday, wary of the rising case counts. Akin to adults, a child is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after their second dose.
“A lot of my friends kept their kids home,” she said. “This is scary.”
I brought covid home to my 79 year old husband. He spent his 80th birthday in ICU. He's alive and home, but it's been a very long road. I pray that all who came in contact with the positive children and adults are ok. Sure, most people who get the virus have mildish cases, but until you or a loved one has been seriously affected, you don't know how really bad it can be.
ReplyDeleteJames, why do you keep posting these things? Is this a surprise? Remember when you were so angry in march 2020? What's the point? Oh, right, it's gonna change. Another year gone by, no change.
ReplyDelete1223. what's your strategy? join the struggle, be a voice of opposition against Unity Caucus
DeleteMy school, they only test 10 percent of the kids which is about 2 students per class sometimes just 1. I don't see how the percentages are accurate.
ReplyDeleteNot one of my students has done the Covid screening this year. Security only seems to grill parents and staff. District 75 school in Bronx.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, the screening is a joke. If you are going to fail it, why would you show up just to not be let in the building? That little piece made zero sense from the start.
DeleteMust be the Republicans who refuse in NY and CA...
ReplyDeleteLarge urban areas with vaccination rates that are lower than the Bay Area’s are seeing some of the most concerning rises in cases.
403. must be the failed system that enables doubt and lack of trust. a system that must be replaced. just like the failed leadership in our union must be replaced. Repub/Dems are protectors of the system. get rid of them both. Unity, filled with both Repubs and Dems, is the protector of our failing union, get rid of Unity. It's time for change on all fronts.
DeleteWe need to mandate boosters ASAP , we need to protect the community , our friends and family . Do the right thing .
ReplyDelete^ next headline when the new wave comes . Florida is safe now
It's been the same trend for almost 2 years now. The surges go on average for 2 months. The higher you go in the surge (like Florida just championed) the faster the decline straight down to a manageable level. So in another 2 months, you will see another surge. Question is.. With their policies these last 5 months, was it worth that violent and deadly surge which now has then over 60k deaths? I don't think so.
DeleteThe new principal at IS 125 in LIC, reportedly found a stash of weapons in a safe that were stashed there by previous principals to avoid reporting them. I know this is happening all over the city. I guess parents and students don't need to know how dangerous their schools really are. Again, smoke and mirrors.
ReplyDeleteIf ISA 125 parents call for an investigation it’s because they’re domestic terrorists. They should shut up and let the school board or in this case the chancellor and mayor handle things as they see fit. Calling out weapons or other crimes in schools is a clear sign of domestic terrorism and they’re probably racist insurrectionists too.
ReplyDeleteSo corny @ 9:29. Always defensive and stuck on politics. Get a life, smile once in a while.
DeleteFunny how numbers ‘rise’ when vaccines are now available for school aged kids. Same thing happened in summer when they wanted people vaccinated.
ReplyDeleteRemember, numbers lie and liars use numbers.