Schools and colleges in New York will remain closed for the rest of the year, Cuomo says

• Schools will remain closed for the rest of the school year, New York Gov. Cuomo said on Friday. Virtual learning will continue.
• The state will decide by the end of May whether summer schools can open as planned.
• Cuomo said schools should develop plans to reopen under social-distancing guidelines.
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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Friday that schools and colleges in the state will remain closed for the rest of the academic year.

Schools will continue virtual learning for the remainder of the year, and a decision about whether summer schools will be able to open with students on the premises will be made by the end of the month, Cuomo said in his daily coronavirus update from Albany.

Schools will also need to plan for how to reopen under social-distancing guidelines in the fall or in 2021.

"We don't think it's possible to reopen schools in a way that would keep our children and students and educators safe," Cuomo said.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said on April 11 schools in the city would remain closed for the rest of the year. Later that day, Cuomo pushed back, saying that shutting schools is "my legal authority," and should be coordinated regionally across Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York City and its surrounding counties.

New York City Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza told principals in a conference call earlier this week that while the city is preparing to open schools in September, there's only a "50-50 shot" the buildings will actually open then, according to The New York Post.

Cuomo added that a decision on whether to extend the "NY Pause" business closures beyond May 15 will be made before that deadline, but did not give a more specific timeframe.

Here are the other key takeaways from Cuomo's Friday update:

• New COVID-19 hospitalizations in the state have plateaued at between 900-1,000 per day, a figure Cuomo called too high. "That is still a burden on the hospital system," he said.
• The state recorded 289 deaths on Thursday, the first time the 24-hour death toll was below 300 since March 30. New York's total death toll is now 18,610 excluding probable COVID-19 deaths and people who died at home, per the state's department of health.
• The vast majority of New York state's daily 1,000-or-so cases, most come from New York City and its surrounding counties.
• A troubling trend, Cuomo said, is an increase in the number of domestic violence incidents the state recorded in March and April: Incidents increased 15% in March and 30% in April. Cuomo called it a "national epidemic."
• For those in need, Cuomo said the state has a Domestic Violence Help Line. The number is 1-844-997-2121.