Parents and children across the Big Apple were left in limbo Friday morning as Governor Andrew Cuomo sparred with Mayor Bill de Blasio over his decision to close the country’s biggest school district to in-person instruction.
“Medical research as well as the data from Northeastern states, from across the country, and from around the world make clear that in-person learning is safe when the appropriate protections are in place, even in communities with high transmission rates,” said the statement from Cuomo, along with a number of other governors from New Jersey, Massachusetts, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.
A joint message from myself, @NYGovCuomo, @GovernorTomWolf, @JohnCarneyDE, @GovNedLamont, @GovRaimondo, and @MassGovernor on the importance of in-person education: pic.twitter.com/urtNq7YRO9
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) November 19, 2020
We all want to bring our schools back. We need to reset the equation to keep our schools safe. We are working on a new standard, including increased testing, to bring students and staff back safely.
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) November 19, 2020
“In-person learning is the best possible scenario for children, especially those with special needs and from low-income families. There is also growing evidence that the more time children spend outside of school increases the risk of mental health harm and affects their ability to truly learn,” the statement said.
Read the full report at Fox News.
DE BLASIO SPIRALS: 2 NYPD Shot, 1 Stabbed, Mayor Says Protests Remind Him of John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’
Two members of the NYPD were shot in Brooklyn overnight Monday and another officer stabbed in the neck as protesters defied an 8pm curfew imposed by beleaguered Mayor Bill de Blasio.
“The melee unfolded when a suspect approached a cop on Church Avenue near Flatbush Avenue at about 11:45 p.m. and stabbed him in the neck, a police source said,” reports the New York Post.
Meanwhile, the mayor faced a growing backlash after saying the violent situation reminded him of John Lennon’s utopian anthem ‘Imagine.’
NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio: "I don't mean to make light of this but I'm reminded of the song 'Imagine' by John Lennon." pic.twitter.com/ElerZgB2y3
— The Hill (@thehill) June 3, 2020
“I don’t mean to make light of this. But I’m reminded of the song ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon. We played it at my inauguration! What about a world where people got along differently? What about a world where we didn’t live with a lot of the restrictions that we live with now,” said De Blasio. “We’re not there yet. The protest movement themselves is how we make progress!”
Read the full report at the New York Post.
DE BLASIO SPIRALS: Embattled Mayor Says Spike in CoVID Hospitalizations Has Nothing to do With Protests
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters he would be “surprised” if a recent spike in CoVID-19 hospitalizations was related to the ongoing George Floyd protests taking place in all five boroughs.
“I would be surprised if that’s what’s causing it,” de Blasio said Friday. “I think we’re much more likely in the next week [or] 10 days to see a manifestation, if there is one.”
“It is dangerous to be close together,” he admitted. “I don’t like that.”
Watch Bill de Blasio get Booed at a George Floyd Memorial.
How embarrassing. pic.twitter.com/iaEzWStJNP
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) June 4, 2020
“If you were at one of those protests, I would, out of an abundance of caution, assume that you are infected,” Governor Cuomo said Thursday. “One person, one person can infect hundreds if you were at a protest.”
Read the full report at Fox News.