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Monday, October 19, 2020

Good News! New York City’s Public Schools Are Surprisingly Safe | Diane Ravitch's blog

Good News! New York City’s Public Schools Are Surprisingly Safe | Diane Ravitch's blog
Good News! New York City’s Public Schools Are Surprisingly Safe


The New York Times reports that the public schools of New York City have been conducting random drug tests, and the results reveal a surprisingly small number of COVID-19 infections. The city might be a “national model.”

For months, as New York City struggled to start part-time, in-person classes, fear grew that its 1,800 public schools would become vectors of coronavirus infection, a citywide archipelago of super-spreader sites.

But nearly three weeks into the in-person school year, early data from the city’s first effort at targeted testing has shown the opposite: a surprisingly small number of positive cases.

Out of 15,111 staff members and students tested randomly by the school system in the first week of its testing regimen, the city has gotten back results for 10,676. There were only 18 positives: 13 staff members and five students.

And when officials put mobile testing units at schools CONTINUE READING: Good News! New York City’s Public Schools Are Surprisingly Safe | Diane Ravitch's blog