Big city, big worry: Pressure mounting to close NYC schools

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By MARC LEVY HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Philadelphia public schools, with roughly 200,000 children, will close next week because of staffing problems related to the COVID-19 outbreak, the district said Friday as school closures mounted throughout the state.An additional 20 districts in northeastern Pennsylvania, including Scranton, will close next week, too. Schools in at least 10 Pennsylvania counties closed Friday as the state mounted a sweeping social distancing measure aimed at slowing the spread of the new coronavirus.Meanwhile, the number of positive tests grew from 22 to 33, including the first patient under age 18, the Department of Health said Friday, with more than 100 tests pending.Montgomery County was the only one where all schools were closed Friday, following Gov. Tom Wolf's Thursday order for schools, day cares and other facilities to close in the suburban Philadelphia county of more than 800,000 people that has been hit hard by the outbreak. He also discouraged large gatherings of people statewide and canceled prison visits.Wolf administration officials, in an online address to hundreds of school district officials Friday, said they are otherwise leaving the decision to close schools to districts and would try to speedily approve requests for flexibility to meet the requirement that schools be open for instruction 180 days each school year. Already closed Friday for the day or longer were numerous public schools in Allegheny, Bucks, Chester, Lancaster, York, Berks and Delaware counties, along with every school in Allentown and some in Philadelphia. In the latter city, 63 schools were closed as a result of Wolf's order for Montgomery County because more than 2,000 of its 18,000 employees live in that county. A look at the latest developments in Pennsylvania:___CASESAll of the state's 33 cases of positive tests are in eastern Pennsylvania. Hardest hit is Montgomery County with 17 cases, with more new cases in Philadelphia and Delaware County reported Friday, and a child in Monroe County.All but one of the confirmed cases have been traced back to contact with the new coronavirus in another state or country. Most people are at home in isolation, officials say; a few are hospitalized.For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.The vast majority of people recover.___MONTGOMERY COUNTYWolf has said his approach to Montgomery County will be continually evaluated. For now, it applies to all kinds of schools, including more than 20 public school districts in the county that educate more than 100,000 children. It also applies to higher education, day cares, adult care centers and private schools.His administration said Wolf was acting under disaster emergency law that allows him to control movement and occupancy in a disaster area, but it could not say when a governor had last used that power. It also cited the Department of Health's legal responsibility to “determine and employ the most efficient and practical means for the prevention and suppression of disease.”Gas stations, grocery stores, government facilities, utilities and mass transit should continue to operate, he said, while no-visitor policies are to be adopted by prisons and nursing homes.For its part, Montgomery County officials are prohibiting all mass gatherings of any size that are outside, or in temporary structures, events that typically require a permit. They also implored the cancellation of any nonessential public and private gathering indoors, and for businesses to allow employees to work from home. ___CANCELLATIONSPublic programs, events and training in Pennsylvania's state parks and forests were canceled Friday through April, although parks and forests will remain open except for three parks in the Philadelphia suburb of Montgomery County. The event cancellations include special events such as races and festivals. Visitors can still camp overnight or stay in cabins and cottages, and fishing is still allowed. In Montgomery County, three state parks will be closed to visitors for at least two weeks: Evansburg, Fort Washington and Norristown Farm Park.___PRISON VISITSThe state Department of Corrections has canceled all inmate visits for two weeks and said it will step up screening of employees and vendors, including taking temperatures and asking a series of questions. Anyone with flu-like symptoms or a temperature of 100.4 degrees or more will not be allowed in a state prison, Corrections Secretary John Wetzel said in a statement.There are no confirmed cases in state prisons.___Associated Press reporters Mark Scolforo and Maryclaire Dale contributed to this report. The Associated Press receives support for health and science coverage from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Philadelphia schools closing next week amid outbreak