New mayor says New York City kids safe in schools amid surge in infections

New York City’s newly minted mayor Eric Adams (D) is seeking to reassure parents that their children will be safe as students return to school amid a surge in COVID-19 infections.

“We are going to be safe and we will be open to educate our children,” Adams said at a Monday morning press conference, according to The Associated Press. 

“We’re going to pivot. We’re going to shift. We’re going to adjust. We’re going to get it done. That’s the bottom line. We’re going to keep schools open,” he added.

The AP noted that schools are ready with substitute teachers and administrative staff in case teachers are unable to come to work because of COVID-19, according to David Banks, the city’s schools chancellor. 

“All indications are that we’re in a pretty good place right now,” Banks said.

On Sunday, Adams discussed on ABC’s “This Week” his decision to keep schools in the country’s largest school system open. More than 1 million students are in the system.

“We now can vaccinate children from 5 years of age and older. I plead with parents to please seriously consider vaccinating your children, wearing masks in the school setting, doing tests to stay,” Adams said.

“I think all those things put together, it’s safe enough to get those kids back to school, balanced against the deleterious effects of keeping them out,” he added.

But while schools were out for the holiday break, COVID-19 cases in New York City more than doubled, according to the AP.

In the last seven days, New York City has reported an average of 26,817 total new cases across age groups, compared to the average of 15,060 daily cases over the last 28 days, according to the city’s health department data.