These Bayside Schools Have COVID Cases, Closures

BAYSIDE, QUEENS — Several public schools in Bayside have students, teachers, or staff quarantining this week but after the city relaxed its quarantine policies last week most of the people missing tested positive for COVID-19.

As of Monday, at least four public schools in Bayside had imposed a partial quarantine due to a coronavirus exposure, data shows, meaning that while some COVID-positive people weren't in class, vaccinated children who were exposed could still be in school. None of the schools in the neighborhood had entirely closed any classrooms, according to the interactive map from the Department of Education.

All of the closures in Bayside began after the city revised its COVID-19 protocols last week to allow unvaccinated children to remain in school after they come in contact with a COVID-positive student. That change coincided with the vaccine mandate for teachers, which took effect Monday, and followed guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Still, a total of 32 classrooms across the city were closed as of Sunday evening, with another 39 under partial quarantines. Since the school year began last month, only one school — P.S. 79 in East Harlem — has had to go temporarily remote due to a virus outbreak.

Here's the rundown of Bayside quarantines:

Partial quarantines

These schools were under partial classroom quarantines, in which vaccinated children can stay in school despite being exposed, as long as they do not feel sick:

• Benjamin N. Cardozo High School (three classrooms)
  
• BELL Academy
• P.S. 159
• Marie Curie Middle School/MS 158Q

Altogether, 1,210 classrooms have been closed due to COVID exposures since the start of school on Sept. 13. That's less than two percent of the 65,000 spaces the city is using as classrooms this year. (The city typically has around 48,000 classrooms, but added other spaces to help with social distancing, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio.)

Under new policies, entire schools will only be closed this year when there is evidence of "widespread transmission," as determined by the Health Department and Department of Education.

Patch Editor Nick Garber contributed to this report.