Reopening NYC: 25,000 students opt back into in-person learning

Coronavirus update for NYC

ByEyewitness News WABC logo

Friday, March 26, 2021

25,000 opt back into NYC in-person learning

Nearly 25,000 New York City public school students have opted back into in-person since the period opened two days ago.

TIMES SQUARE, Manhattan (WABC) -- Nearly 25,000 New York City public school students have opted back into in-person since the period opened two days ago.

Earlier this week, parents got another opportunity to get their children back in the classroom after opting for all remote learning in the fall.

All schools are now open for in-person learning, after the CDC updated its guidance to suggest students can safely socially distance at 3 feet instead of 6.

"After just two days of the opt-in process, that's, to me, a real interesting sign of the energy of parents to come back to our schools," he said. "It represents two days of a 14-day window. I don't want to conjecture. I can't tell you what the timeline will be. I can tell you 25,000 kids in two days means something."

The opt-in window runs through April 7.

Lauren Glassberg has more on a long-awaited reunion for the Broadway community during a pop-up event in Times Square on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, New York City is taking steps toward reopening theaters, creating vaccination and testing sites for stage workers in a bid to restore a key part of New York's draw.

"It's time to raise the curtain and bring Broadway back," de Blasio said during his daily press conference Thursday.

The $15 billion industry shut down virtually overnight last spring as New York City became the epicenter of the pandemic. The goal now is for Broadway to welcome back audiences by the end of this summer.

"They need answers now to be able to get the shows back as early as September," de Blasio said. "The vaccination effort will start in April, so we will have plenty of time to reach a lot of folks in the Broadway community - the actors, the folks who work behind the scenes who make things happen, everyone we want to reach."

New York City is taking steps toward the reopening of the city's theaters, creating vaccination and testing sites for stage workers in a bid to restore a key part of New York's dra

The mayor says the city will open a vaccine hub specifically for Broadway performers and crew as well as a mobile vaccine site for off-Broadway personnel.

The city also plans to install pop-up COVID testing locations near Broadway and help theaters with crowd management.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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