Here Are The Upper Manhattan Schools Closed Due To COVID-19

UPPER MANHATTAN, NY — Eight school buildings in Washington Heights and Inwood currently stand shuttered by coronavirus cases, as the city prepares to welcome back a new cohort of students for in-person learning.

Since December, the city's schools have been open only to elementary school students and students in District 75 with learning disabilities. Starting Feb. 25, however, middle schoolers will finally return for in-person classes, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced this week.

In the interim, school buildings have continued to close regularly, as they are required to do when at least two COVID-19 cases linked to each other are confirmed in separate classrooms.

As of Thursday evening, Washington Heights and Inwood have eight schools closed among the two neighborhoods.

Upper Manhattan's longest school closures are P.S. 128 on 560 West 169th Street and P.S. 8 at 465 West 167th Street. Both schools have been closed since Feb. 2 and are reopening on Friday.

Herbert G.Birch Annex school on 554 Fort Washington Avenue closed for 10 days starting on Feb. 4, followed by P.S. 28 on 475 West 155th Street, which began its 10-day closure on Feb. 5.

On Friday, P.S./I.S. 263 on 202 Sherman Avenue and P.S. 98 on 512 West 212 Street both shut their buildings for 10 days.

Most recently, P.S. 178 at 12-18 Ellwood Street closed for two days on Wednesday and P.S. 48 on 4360-70 Broadway closed for just Thursday.

Temporary closures are extended to 10 days when infections occurred outside of school or a link cannot be determined.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the number of temporary or extended building closures across the city stood at 176 — a significant drop from last month's record high of 373.

While the city's virus rates remain far above the 3 percent threshold that first shuttered schools in November, de Blasio and education officials have repeatedly said the city's schools remain remarkably safe.

Teachers and other staff will return to buildings on Feb. 24, followed by students the next day. About half of the city's 471 middle schools are slated to reopen immediately, with a large number offering five-day-a-week classroom instruction, Chancellor Richard Carranza said Monday.

Patch reporter Matt Troutman contributed.