COVID-19 numbers in NYC schools remain low

NEW YORK - New York City is about a month into its COVID-delayed school year and so far, early data from student testing shows a surprisingly small number of positive COVID cases in classrooms.

Currently, 10 to 20 percent of a public school's population is subject to random COVID-19 testing to keep a school from closing. While some have questioned whether the sample is large enough to avoid the city having to move to fully remote learning, Mayor Bill de Blasio has defended the city's testing.

"Based on the experience we've had so far, I'm very confident," de Blasio said. "We've had really extensive testing, and results have come back consistently, very low positivity rate, much lower than what we're seeing in the city."

• Brooklyn parents object to school closings

As of Wednesday, only 5 schools are currently in a 14-day shutdown because of coronavirus cases.

However, testing students remains a challenge. Last week, Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza told the City Council Education Committee that only about 72,000 parents have consented to having their child tested. Mayor de Blasio says the goal is to continue outreach efforts with families.

"We need to talk to people, we need a parent, if they want to talk to a doctor, we'll help them do it, if they need tot talk to someone in their own native language we're gonna let them do that," de Blasio said. "We want to help people get their questions answered and htat takes time."