Eric Adams: ‘It’s a Luxury’ to Say ‘Stay at Home,’ We Can’t Stop School for Every Variant

On Tuesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “New Day,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) stated that schools are the safest place for children to be, “It’s a luxury to say, stay at home,” and that “strand after strand, we can’t continue to stop our children from developing socially and academically and the support that they need.”

Adams said, “The numbers right now state, and it’s very clear, the safest place for children, right now, is in a school building. That’s the safest place for them. If they’re not in school, it does not mean they’re not going outdoors. It does not mean they’re not going to deal with the trauma of not having socialization, not getting a meal, not being able to get remote learning. It’s a luxury to say, stay at home, when you have all the tools that you needed. But for poor, black, brown children that you don’t have access to some of the basic things, school is the best place for you.”

He later added, “And so, yes, we see an increase, we see the exposure and how quickly this strand is exposing us. But let’s share something, let’s be clear, strand after strand, we can’t continue to stop our children from developing socially and academically and the support that they need. So, we have to learn how to live with COVID, and live with COVID [in] a safe way, and that’s what I’m going to do. I’m not going to allow the hysteria to prevent the future of my children receiving the quality education and the development that all sociologists are stating that they need.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett