BOSTON (WHDH) - Mayor Martin J. Walsh on Wednesday announced that Boston is “pausing” its phased-in approach to returning kids to the classroom this fall as positive coronavirus test rates continue to climb in the city.
“The citywide positive rate puts us just over the 4 percent threshold that we established for moving forward with our phased-in, hybrid learning plan for the Boston Public Schools,” Walsh said during a news conference at City Hall. “So we believe it is prudent at this time to pause the school reopening plan.”
Kindergarten students will not return to the classroom on Oct. 15 in Phase III of the plan due to the alarming change in public health trends, according to Walsh. Their return to the classroom has now been pushed back until at least Oct. 22 and remote learning will remain in place.
“We will re-evaluate based on the data we see between now and then,” Walsh said.
Over the next two weeks, the city will work to determine if the recent uptick in positive cases is a trend or a “bump in the road,” Chief of Health and Human Services Marty Martinez explained.
Boston is currently seeing a 4.1 percent COVID-19 positivity rate, which is up from last week and now at its highest mark since June, according to Martinez.
“The average number of positive tests increased from 65.6 to 73 positive tests per day,” Martinez said. “We continue to see increased COVID activity week over week.”
Boston entered the higher risk category for coronavirus transmission last week, prompting Walsh to delay the move into Step II of Phase III of Gov. Charlie Baker’s reopening plan.
Martinez said Boston will “likely” remain in the red zone for at least another week, which would indicate at least eight positive tests per 100,000 residents.
“In light of the positivity rate exceeding 4 percent, consistent with and in part resulting from troubling statewide and national trends in COVID-19 spread, we support the postponement of broadening in-person learning within the Boston Public Schools that the Mayor announced today,” Boston Teachers Union President Jessica Tang said in a statement.
Students with the highest needs will continue to go to school for in-person instruction. Thousands of high-need students returned to class on Oct. 1.
“Highest need students and families are our top priority right now and we are in active dialogue with the Boston Public Schools to ensure we have the appropriate staffing in place to support those students and families, without violating the safety guidelines and agreement that the district and city themselves previously proposed and which was jointly agreed upon,” Tang added.
As of right now, grades 1-3 will transition to a hybrid model of learning no sooner than Oct. 22, as planned. Grades 4-8 will start no sooner than Nov. 5, while grades 9-12 are slated for a Nov. 16 start date.
Parents have been given a choice to opt-into hybrid learning or stay fully remote.
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