New York teachers unions demand school shutdowns in the event of just one COVID-19 case

A coalition of two powerful teachers unions in New York is demanding that any reopened school in the state must be shuttered for at least two weeks if a single positive COVID-19 case is detected in a community member. 

New York State United Teachers and New York City's United Federation of Teachers made the demand in a press release Wednesday. They also called for a "clear statewide policy for building shutdown, tracing, quarantine protocols in the event of positive COVID-19 cases in schools."

The unions "believe that if districts are to move forward with reopening their school buildings, they must err on the side of caution at all times," the release states. 

"Specifically," it continues, "in the event of a positive COVID-19 case, the unions are calling for the immediate closure of that school building and a return to remote learning for 14 days before revisiting whether it is safe for the building to reopen."

The press release also calls for the implementation of swift contact-tracing measures and mandatory quarantining for anyone exposed to and possibly infected by the coronavirus. 

The demand comes amid a fierce and contentious debate across the country regarding the re-opening of schools, nearly all of which were shuttered by state governors in March as more COVID-19 cases were detected across the country. 

Emerging evidence suggests that children are unlikely to fall seriously ill from the disease and similarly unlikely to spread it to other children or to teachers.

Yet many education authorities and state officials throughout the country have nevertheless extended their school shutdowns into the fall semester, with some signaling that the closures may go on for even longer.