Cuomo Will Allow Kids in N.Y. Hot Spots to Go Back to School

(Bloomberg) -- New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said he has established protocols that would allow students in Covid cluster areas to return to school.

Cuomo said he has been working with public and private schools, including yeshivas and Catholic schools, in zones with the highest positive infection rates. They have reached an agreement that will keep the kids safe, the governor said Friday during a call with reporters.

All students will be required to test negative before returning to school, Cuomo said. There also will be a required random surveillance, with testing of 25% of the school population every week, according to state officials. The state will provide free rapid-result test kits.

Cuomo shut schools and businesses in the areas weeks ago as cases surged. Many of the zones had large Orthodox Jewish communities, and some have sued the government.

The state reported 2,255 new cases for Thursday after conducting about 146,000 tests. The positive rate was 2.7% in the clusters, and 1.3% outside the clusters. Statewide, the rate is 1.3%, which is the third-lowest rate in the nation, after Maine and Vermont, according to Cuomo.

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