East Harlem School Closes After 19 COVID Cases Are Confirmed

EAST HARLEM, NY — An East Harlem public school closed temporarily over the weekend after well over a dozen cases of COVID-19 were confirmed there, making it the first school to be shuttered during the new academic year.

P.S. 79, on East 120th Street near Marcus Garvey Park, closed for 10 days starting Saturday and will reopen on Sept. 28. Students will learn remotely during that time.

At least 19 cases, all among staff, have been confirmed there, according to Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer. All cases were linked to an orientation that preceded the first day of school last week, Brewer said.

Known as the Horan School, P.S. 79 primarily serves students with learning disabilities.

P.S 79 has been directed to close beginning Monday, September 20 due to possible widespread exposure and transmission in the school. All of the positive cases were staff and linked to pre-school orientation. The school will reopen on September 28.
— Gale A. Brewer (@galeabrewer) September 19, 2021

The school's outbreak was first revealed last week by Brewer, who has called on the city to add a remote option for families who do not wish to send students to school.

"This is exactly what we feared would happen—and why a remote option should have been offered to parents in the first place," Brewer said in a tweet.

Under the city's current policies, schools will only be closed this year when there is evidence of "widespread transmission," as determined by the Health Department and Department of Education.

Grab-and-go meals can be picked up from P.S. 79 or other school buildings that are closer to families during the closure.

As of Sunday evening, 137 classrooms across the city were fully or partially closed due to a coronavirus case, while P.S. 79 was the only building closure.

The closure came just days after New York City welcomed back all 1 million of its public school students to the classroom for the first time since the pandemic struck, bringing all eyes to the ability of the city to deliver on its promise for the "gold standard" of health and safety in the 2021-22 school year.

On Monday, de Blasio announced that the city would begin imposing weely COVID-19 tests at public schools — a step up from the current biweekly policy, which had been criticized as too lax by teachers' unions.

Previous coverage: 1 Week In, 11 Harlem Schools Close Classrooms For COVID Cases