As of Sunday morning, the city’s average positivity rate stood at 2.57 percent, and the expectation is that the rate will only increase. On Friday, the mayor encouraged parents to develop alternative plans for the likely end of in-person schooling this month. With so much uncertainty, parents are left scouring the city’s latest numbers for clues: Was Friday’s alarming 2.8 percent average positivity rate artificially high? The mayor announced the metric over the summer, when it was still unclear if his administration could pull off reopening. At the time, the leader of the city’s teachers’ union was warning that schools would not be safe come fall, and threats of sickouts or even a strike loomed.

Source: New York Times November 15, 2020 19:52 UTC