(Reuters) – Boston’s public school system announced on Wednesday that students will shift to remote learning beginning Thursday due to the rising COVID-19 infection rate in the city.
“We have said all along that we will only provide in-person learning for students if the data and public health guidance supports it, and this new data shows that we are trending in the wrong direction,” Boston Mayor Martin Walsh said in a statement.
Boston Public Schools which serves more than 55,000 pre-K through grade 12 students, allowed some highest need pupils back to the classroom on Oct. 1 after starting remote learning on Sept. 21.
City officials decided to go back to fully remote education following two weeks of increased confirmed positive cases across Boston.
“I am heartbroken that today we have to close our doors to our highest need students,” Superintendent Brenda Cassellius said in a statement. “Our families are desperate for these services for their children, many of whom are non-verbal and unable to use technology in the home.”
(Reporting by Maria Caspani, Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Lisa Shumaker)
