New York City closing public schools to curb virus

New York City is closing its public schools amid rising coronavirus infections, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday.

"New York City has reached the 3% testing positivity 7-day average threshold. Unfortunately, this means public school buildings will be closed as of tomorrow, Thursday Nov. 19, out of an abundance of caution," said de Blasio on Twitter.

"We must fight back the second wave of COVID-19," he added.

According to multiple news outlets, there are some 300,000 students learning in-person at New York City public schools.

Richard Carranza, the chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, said starting from Thursday, all learning will proceed remotely for all students until further notice.

At least 290,000 cases and 24,100 deaths have been recorded in New York City since the beginning of the pandemic.

Nearly 250,000 people in the US have died and 11.4 million have contracted the disease, according to Johns Hopkins University data.