Schools
Coronavirus Triggers First 14-Day Closure At NYC School
Roughly 260 students and 90 staff at John F. Kennedy Jr. School in Queens will stay out of school as it undergoes a mandatory quarantine.
NEW YORK CITY — Two unrelated coronavirus cases at a Queens special education school prompted the city's first 14-day shutdown of a school building as the district reopened.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday the closure affects 262 blended learning students and 88 staff members at John F. Kennedy Jr. School. He noted it's the first such building-wide quarantine since teachers and pupils started trickling back into classrooms.
"That's the only one in the entire time that has experienced that," he said.
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Administrators at the school tweeted the closure will last until Oct. 13 after an investigation by the city's Test and Trace corps and health department.
The city's school reopening protocols require an automatic 14-day closure if two COVID-19 cases in the same building appear to be unrelated. The closure only affects the school's main building at 57-12 94th St. in Elmhurst, according to a letter administrators sent parents.
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"We hope to return to the building on Wednesday, October 14," the letter states.
Dear 721Q Community, We regret to inform you that the Main Site will remain closed until October 13th. We look forward to welcoming you back on Wednesday, October 14 (see attached letter for more information). Thank you and stay safe. pic.twitter.com/50ZN4qsz8z
— JFK Jr. School-721Q (@P721Q) October 1, 2020
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