UPDATED: Irvington Union Free School District is expected to be among the 44 Westchester county school districts to close schools for the next two weeks. The announcement is expected on Wednesday, following New York governor Andrew Cuomo’s decision to close schools in Westchester, NYC, Nassau and Suffolk on Sunday.
Last Friday, over 50 area superintendents, including Irvington superintendent Dr. Kris Harrison, met with state officials to discuss plans for dealing with the outbreak of COVID-19. As of Sunday, New York has over 600 cases and two confirmed deaths due to the virus.
In a letter to the school community, Dr. Harrison stated, “There are many unanswered questions for school districts at this time; both as they relate to the potential for the spread of COVID-19 within our schools, as well as the logistical implications for schools.”
Dr. Harrison also stated that the district will “re-evaluate” on Tuesday the situation and advised “parents to prepare for an extended school closing as are our teachers.”
Meanwhile, some school districts have already announced extended closings, including Bedford school district in Westchester. Dr. Joel Adelberg, acting superintendent of schools in Bedford, in an email to his community announced that schools would be closed through April 3.
“Without clear direction from government leaders,” Dr. Adelberg wrote, “area superintendents have all resolved to take care of our communities and do what we believe is best without waiting for additional guidance.”
The letter also states that the status of Spring Break will be re-evaluated in light of the extended closure at a later date.
Two Irvington students, Josh Chang and Josh Aronson, have transformed their snow day tracking website into a coronavirus tracking site that includes a map of school closures, predictions for future school closings, and links to the World Health Organization.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has banned gatherings or events of 500 people or more, and ordering other businesses like restaurants to cut occupancy by half. The governor and NYC mayor Bill DiBlasio are pleading with New Yorkers to practice social distancing to avoid spreading the virus in light of reports of airports, bars and restaurants still being packed with people.
Drive-in testing for coronavirus has begun in New Rochelle, the epicenter for Westchester’s outbreak.
