Executive Curran was very disappointed upon hearing the news of the shut down:
I strongly disagree with Mayor de Blasio’s decision to close down schools in New York City. As Nassau County Executive, I want to make clear to residents that I will do everything I can to keep our schools open. Thanks to the hard work of school administrators, school buildings have not been a major vector of transmission in Nassau. Our contact tracers have found that the virus is primarily spreading at social gatherings where little to no precautions are taken.
Closing schools should be the absolute last resort. Isolating children from teachers and classmates is detrimental to young people’s mental health and educational and emotional growth. Closing schools causes further economic devastation, and disproportionately harms families in lower-income communities. If we all do our part, we have the tools and know-how to get through this winter without a complete shutdown. Let’s continue to wear our masks, practice social distancing, and avoid unsafe gatherings to save lives, keep kids in school, and ensure businesses can stay open.
