New York is positioned to reopen schools safely, health experts say

In interviews, doctors, epidemiologists and other public health experts said that conditions were favorable throughout the state, including New York City, to bring children back — as long as safety precautions are in place. Some expressed concern that the effects of keeping students home were more worrisome.

As of Wednesday, fewer than 1 percent of coronavirus tests statewide were positive, well below the 5 percent positivity threshold that both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization have targeted as a safe standard for reopening schools…

New York also does well by another safety metric, the number of cases per capita. The Harvard report characterized regions with between one and 10 new cases a day per 100,000 people as “yellow zones,” areas suitable for in-person classes at all grade levels as long as proper infection control and social distancing measures are in place. New York is within this zone, with 23 cases per 100,000 over a seven day period, about 3.5 cases per 100,000 on a daily basis. The yellow zone recommendations are to give first priority for reopening to prekindergarten through fifth grade and last priority to high school.