Andrew Cuomo
Andrew CuomoReuters

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Friday that all school districts are authorized to reopen due to a decline in cases of COVID-19.

“Every region is well below our COVID infection limit, therefore all school districts are authorized to open. If the infection rate spikes, the guidance will change accordingly. School districts are required to submit plans to NYS for review,” Cuomo said.

He added that the state would require all school districts to post their remote learning plans and their testing/tracing plans online, set dates for 3-5 discussion sessions with parents and community prior to August 21, and have at least one separate discussion with teachers alone.

“In schools as elsewhere, masks are required when social distancing is impossible. Every student should plan to have one with them at all times. If a student does not have a mask, the school will be required to provide one,” concluded Cuomo.

New York, as of Friday, has reported 425,047 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 33,566 deaths. Most of the fatalities occurred during the spring when the pandemic was hitting the area the hardest.

While the number of new cases in New York has been trending downward of late, there has been an uptick in new infections in the surrounding states, according to the latest NBC News analysis.

(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)