For many worried about COVID-19 in New York City schools, the last few weeks may feel like déjà vu. Omicron subvariants are rapidly spreading through classrooms, yet some parents and teachers say limited action is being taken to contain the surge.
For many parents and teachers dealing with New York City schools, the last few weeks have felt like déjà vu.
“It’s really scary and discouraging to see cases up again,” said Eva Roca, a public health researcher and mother of a kindergarten student in Queens. This week, the mayor’s office announced a new push to distribute 16.5 million at-home tests at schools and other community landmarks. About 37.5 million tests have been distributed at schools in total since December 2021, according to the DOE.
Parents are able to report individual at-home test results when a student is positive — but doing so isn’t required. This process can also take several days. In some cases, parents may be hesitant to report positive at-home tests at all, said Dr. Ayman El-Mohandes, dean of the City University of New York’s public health school. “There is now a bit of stigma to say, ‘I have COVID,’” he said, “and that might extend to children as well.” Parents may also avoid reporting positive results if they’re unable to stay home from work to care for their children.
Keeping track of all these sources is “unmooring,” said Mary Ann Blau, a parent in Brooklyn. Sometimes city or state data lag behind the Situation Room’s reports, while sometimes there may be discrepancies between city and state data based on different disclosure practices that haven’t been clearly explained by the agencies. It’s “not a reasonable expectation” for parents to stay on top of these sources, Blau said.
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