(Reuters) – High schools in New York City will welcome students back for in-person instruction on March 22, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Monday, the latest step by the country’s largest school system to open its classrooms following COVID-19 shutdowns.
“We have all the pieces we need to bring high school back and bring it back strong, and of course bring it back safely,” de Blasio told a news conference.
The mayor had shut down school buildings across the city in mid-November due to an increasing COVID-19 infection rate and has gradually brought students back to classrooms, starting with the youngest students, followed by middle school students last month.
De Blasio had promised high school students would not be far behind.
New York City’s school system is the largest in the United States with 1.1 million students and 1,800 buildings.
(Reporting by Maria Caspani and Nathan Layne, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
