NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Summer school in New York state will be conducted remotely this year, as the state is currently investigating 157 cases of a pediatric inflammatory syndrome that could be linked to the virus, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday.
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Cuomo on Thursday reported 105 new COVID-19 deaths and a total of 157 cases of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C), also known as Pediatric Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome.
Thirteen countries, 25 states and Washington D.C. have now reported MIS-C cases, he said during his daily briefing. Three children in New York state have succumbed to the illness.
"This is one of those cases where I believe the more they look, the more they're going to find," Cuomo said. In addition to keeping schools closed this summer, the state is revisiting its guidelines for non-sleepaway summer camps, he added.
While the state has now made a decision on summer schools, Cuomo said it was still to early to make a decision about schools reopening in the fall.
In June, New York will issue guidelines detailing steps schools would have to take to reopen, he said. Schools will submit those plans to the state in July, and the state will either approve or deny them that same month.
"Again, we don't want to make that decision until we have more facts, and as the facts keep changing, prudence dictates that you don't make a decision until it's timely, so you have the most recent facts to make the decision," he said.
Cuomo on Thursday advised state residents to pick up their phones if they receive a call labeled "NYS Contact Tracing." The state will be calling people who could have been exposed to COVID-19 as part of its contact tracing efforts.
"It's not a hoax, it's not a scam, it's not a fraud. That is an official message saying New York State Contact Tracing is calling," he said of the calls. "So if you get that message, take the phone call. It's for your health; it's for your family's health."
He also announced that Rockland County is now eligible to carry out elective surgeries, joining counties including Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester.
The governor also released data about the number of essential workers, including NYPD and FDNY employees, New York City healthcare workers and NYC Transit workers, who have tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies.
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