Multiple Coronavirus Cases Found At 2 Washington Heights Schools

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — There were two Washington Heights school buildings temporarily closed on Wednesday after four coronavirus cases were confirmed, according to the New York City Department of Education.

That news was made obsolete later in the day, though, when Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that all public schools would halt in-person classes on Thursday due to New York City passing the 3 percent positivity rate.

However, the fact that four COVID cases were found at the two Washington Heights schools remains important. The rate for students in New York City's public school system is just 0.19 percent, much less than the city's rate of 3 percent.

Here are the two buildings where coronavirus cases were found.

• The George Washington HS Educational Campus at 549 Audubon Avenue
• P.S. 189 at 2580 Amsterdam Avenue

The George Washington HS Educational Campus building in Washington Heights houses four small schools: The College Academy, High School for Media and Communications, High School for Law and Public Service, and High School for Health Careers and Sciences.

The school building reported its first positive case on Friday in a classroom in the High School for Law and Public Service.

The building reported its second positive case Wednesday in a classroom in the High School for Health Careers and Science.

The P.S. 189 building in Washington Heights offers school for pre-school through fifth grade and has nearly 570 students.

The school building reported its second coronavirus case on Wednesday.

Per DOE policy, a school building is closed when there are at least two cases from different classrooms, from an activity or exposure outside of school or when the link between them cannot be determined, according to the DOE.

In each case, the building is temporarily closed while the DOE starts an investigation into the cases. In a scenario where a link between the cases cannot be determined, the school is closed for 14 days, according to the guidelines.

However, these guidelines are irrelevant for as long as all public schools remain closed.

Check the full map of active cases here.

Read More: NYC Schools Will Shut Down Over Coronavirus Spike, De Blasio Says