NYC schools should close if infection rate hits 9%: teachers union

NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- New York City should close public schools if its COVID-19 infection rate reaches 9 percent based on state data, the head of its teachers union said Monday.

At a news briefing Monday morning, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said counties with an infection rate over 9 percent would be allowed to keep schools open "if testing in schools shows they are below the community average."

In a statement responding to Cuomo's remarks, however, United Federation of Teachers president Michael Mulgrew said the "safe thing to do is to close the schools [if the infection rate hits 9 percent], even if the in-school rate is lower."

"Safety comes first — as shown by the fact that hundreds of our elementary schools and classrooms are closed temporarily every day because the virus has been detected," he said. "That is how we have stopped the spread of the virus inside our schools."

Mulgrew also criticized the city's decision to use "different measures" than the state in reporting its positivity rate.

Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday said the city's seven-day average infection rate already hit 9 percent on Sunday. The state's health department, however, said the five boroughs' seven-day average positivity rate stood at 6.24 percent on Sunday.

"Given the fact that all the other communities in the state use the state methodology, New York City should adopt it also," Mulgrew said.