NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Mayor Eric Adams has been firm in keeping New York City schools open amid a surge in COVID-19 cases, but some lawmakers are now calling for more flexibility for families.
State Sen. Jessica Ramos joined a coalition of over two dozen state and city lawmakers who sent a letter to Adams this week asking for him to implement a remote option for students who do not feel comfortable attending in-person classes.
“We saw that it worked in the last school year,” she told WCBS 880. “There's no reason we should deprive families of that choice in this dire moment.”
In the letter, lawmakers urged Adams to give families time to undergo COVID-19 testing and to complete vaccination series, especially as the number of pediatric COVID-19 cases continue to climb in the state.
“We urge you to provide a remote option for all schools for about two weeks, until Tuesday, January 18th for parents to test and vaccinate their children to slow down the spread of COVID,” the letter read.
A report from the Department of Health released Friday showed pediatric hospitalizations increased from 70 to 571 per week statewide between Dec. 5 and Jan. 1.
The report also noted that the majority of children hospitalized with the virus are unvaccinated.
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Meanwhile, the letter to Adams pointed out that only 67% of students returned to their classrooms this week, possibly over fears of the virus.
“This demonstrates the hesitance by many parents to return their children to schools as the virus continues to transmit in high numbers,” lawmakers wrote.
“To be clear, we are not asking for the closure of schools but simply an adaptable response to an increasingly alarming issue impacting the health of New Yorkers,” the coalition added.
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Ramos on Friday stressed that the remote option would be entirely voluntary.
"For parents who feel comfortable sending their kids to school, they should be able to do that. But for parents who know that they're child perhaps is not very collaborative in keeping their mask on, or perhaps is immunocompromised, they should be able to make the right choice for their child and keep them home if they're able to do so,” Ramos said.
Still, Adams has not waivered and emphasized this week that schools will remain strictly in-person for the time being.
“I'm going to tell you what's going to happen day to day to day –we are staying open,” the mayor said.
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