Governor Andrew Cuomo: New York Schools can reopen because 'we've been smart since day one'

• New York Governor Andrew Cuomo authorized schools to reopen on a conference call Friday morning.
• Once an epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, the state's test positivity rates have fallen to below 1%.
• The governor also said that guidance could change if infection rates spike again.

School buildings across New York state may reopen this fall, New York governor Andrew Cuomo said on Friday.

In a conference call, Cuomo emphasized New York's low recent case rates as support for reopening plans.

"If any state can do it, this state can do it because we've been smart since day one," Cuomo said, according to CBS6 Albany. "We can bring the same level of intelligence that we brought to the economic reopening."

But the governor noted that reopening authorization wasn't set in stone.

"If the infection rate spikes, the guidance will change accordingly," he tweeted Friday morning.

Schools in areas with positivity rates under 5% may reopen in accordance with general epidemiologist consensus, Cuomo said. Most of New York has maintained positivity rates below that, including New York City.

Once the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the US, with more than 10,000 cases a day in early April, New York saw its daily new case rate drop to 636 new cases on August 5, with test positivity rates under 1% statewide. The state's success has been attributed to harsh stay-at-home restrictions that outlasted those of many states seeing large outbreaks now, like Florida and Mississippi.

Dr. Anthony Fauci praised Cuomo and New York in mid-July, saying they "did it correctly" in reference to the timing and severity of restrictions.

Cuomo's announcement comes at a time when many parents have expressed frustration at the quality of remote learning. In a June survey of families in the New York public school system, only 43% of parents considered their childrens' virtual learning programs successful — down from 57% in March. In that survey, only about half of parents said their children had regular face-to-face interactions with teachers, while 91% found such interactions helpful.

While New Yorkers have awaited Cuomo's announcement since early July, the governor's authorization does not mean that all school districts will reopen. Many of New York's more than 700 school districts have not yet submitted reopening plans to the New York State Department of Education, which they must do if they want to see those plans carried out.

The move to reopen schools has also drawn concern from the state's two largest teacher's unions. On Wednesday, the United Federation of Teachers and the New York State Union of Teachers released a list of demands which included mandated closures if a school saw just one confirmed COVID-19 case.

But on Friday, NYSUT published a statement that appeared to support Cuomo's announcement, particularly his emphasis on detailed reopening plans.

"We're thankful the governor agrees that forcing people back into the classroom when they feel their health is threatened is not what should happen," the union wrote.

As the weeks wear on, it will be up to local district leaders and government officials to make decisions on a case by case basis. The state's largest school district, New York City, has published a detailed proposal online. The plan offers a "blended learning" approach, where students will attend school in person one to three days a week and do the rest from home.