STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF ERIE I, Angela Sutter, duly swear that I am employed with The Buffalo News, a newspaper publication based In Buffalo, New York, as the Senior Account Executive and further swear that the NYSEG insertion ran in The Buffalo News on the following date(s): Date(s): April 6, 2021 Signature The Buffalo News/Tuesday, April 6, 2021 A5 Coronavirus De Blasio to alter rule that often made schools close doors temporarily By Eliza Shapiro ilies an opportunity to switch from remote learning to class- NEW YORK TIMES room instruction for the rest of NEW YORK – Mayor Bill the school year, so that number de Blasio will change a rule may shift. that has, for months, created Some students will get full- a paradox in New York City’s time instruction, while others school reopening plan: Class- will go in a few days a week rooms that had been reopened and learn from home the rest to students often closed again of the time, based on individual because school buildings had school capacity. to shut temporarily whenever Families have until the end two unrelated virus cases were of the day on Friday to switch. detected. In recent weeks, some epi- The mayor announced Mon- demiologists and medical ex- day that he would alter the rule, perts have told ProPublica and but he did not explain how. the education news site Chalk- He said the new rules will beat that New York’s two-case be outlined in the coming days rule was arbitrary and had led but did not commit to making to unnecessary closures, and changes this week. called on the mayor to adjust it. The closure rule has been “The way to beat Covid extremely frustrating for many is not by closing schools ex- parents, who have said that cessively but by suppressing every day brings uncertainty transmission both inside and about whether their children outside of schools,” Dr. Dave A. will be able to attend school the Chokshi, the city’s health com- following morning. missioner, said during a news Many schools have closed conference Monday. multiple times and sometimes The city’s schools have had have been open for just a few very low virus transmission in days before the next closure. classrooms since they began to The rule has also been in- reopen last fall. tensely disruptive for educa- Michael Mulgrew, president tors, who have been forced to of the United Federation of New York Times toggle between in-person and Teachers, has strenuously op- Millions of white evangelical adults in the U.S. don’t intend to get vaccinated against Covid-19. “If we can’t get a signifi- online learning with only a few posed any changes to the rule cant number of white evangelicals to come around on this, the pandemic is going to last much longer than it needs to,” hours’ notice. for months, arguing that the said Jamie Aten, founder of the Humanitarian Disaster Institute at the evangelical Wheaton College in Illinois. The controversy over the city’s schools were safe only be- closure rule has highlighted cause of the strict safety mea- the enormous difficulties and sures, including the two-case Pastor says colleagues were forced out trade-offs inherent in reopen- threshold. ing schools during the pan- “We can’t just say because demic. they’re an inconvenience we Mayors and education lead- don’t want them,” Mulgrew after promoting vaccination guidelines ers across the country have said of the guidelines during a scrambled to find ways to re- radio interview last month. turn students to classrooms The closure rule was settled have sown fears. Gene Bai- The vaccines do not include and maybe their whole world- while experimenting with safe- last summer during a period VACCINE • from A1 ley, the host of a prophecy-fo- fetal tissue, and no additional view.” ty protocols in real time. of intense turmoil between cused talk show on the Victory abortions are required to man- At this critical moment, Closures have accelerated City Hall and the union, at a that has resulted in the deaths Channel, warned his audience ufacture them. Still, the kernel even pastors struggle to know in recent weeks and months, moment when it was unclear of half a million Americans. in March that the govern- of a connection has metasta- how to reach their flocks. Joel as middle and high school stu- whether de Blasio would be And evangelical ideas and in- ment and “globalist entities” sized online into false rumors Rainey, who leads Covenant dents have returned to their able to reopen schools at all. stincts have a way of spread- will “use bayonets and pris- about human remains or fetal Church in Shepherdstown, buildings after months of all- The city and union eventu- ing, even internationally. ons to force a needle into your DNA being an ingredient in W.Va., said several colleagues remote learning. ally agreed on a host of safety There are about 41 mil- arm.” In a now-deleted Tik- the vaccines. were forced out of their church- The vast majority of city rules that cleared a path for lion white evangelical adults Tok post from an evangelical Some evangelicals see the es after promoting health and students – roughly 700,000 out New York to become the first in the U.S. About 45% said in influencer’s account that has vaccine as a redemptive out- vaccination guidelines. of 1 million – have chosen to large school district in America late February that they would more than 900,000 followers, come for the original aborted Politics has increasing- learn remotely full time, which to reopen schools for all grades. not get vaccinated against Co- she dramatized being killed fetus. ly been shaping faith among means the closure rule did not De Blasio has said he ex- vid-19, making them among by authorities for refusing the Some Catholic bishops have white evangelicals, rather affect most families. pects full-time, in-person in- the least likely demographic vaccine. expressed concerns about the than the other way around, But the city is giving all fam- struction come September. groups to do so, according to Dr. Simone Gold, a promi- abortion link, too. But the Vat- he said. Pastors’ influence on the Pew Research Center. nent Covid-19 skeptic who was ican has concluded the vac- their churches is decreasing. “If we can’t get a signifi- charged with violent entry and cines are “morally acceptable,” “They get their people for one RulMicPublic NoticeNotice cant number of white evangel- disorderly conduct in the Jan. and has emphasized the im- hour, and Sean Hannity gets I icals to come around on this, 6 Capitol siege, told an evan- mediate danger posed by the them for the next 20,” he said. NYSEG has filed tariff revisionsNovember25, 2020 with the pandemic is going to last gelical congregation in Florida virus. Just 22% of Catholics in Rainey helped his own the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) for much longer than it needs to,” that they were in danger of be- America say they will not get Southern Baptist congregation new electricity and natural gas deliveryrates to become said Jamie Aten, founder and ing “coerced into taking an ex- the vaccine, less than half the get ahead of false information effective May 1, 2021. These tariff revisionscover the executive director of the Hu- perimental biological agent.” share of white evangelicals by publicly interviewing medi- second annual delivery rate increase under theterms of a manitarian Disaster Institute Evangelical radio host Eric who say that. cal experts – a retired colonel three-year rate plan approved by the PSC in November at Wheaton College, an evan- Metaxas wrote “Don’t get the White evangelicals who specializing in infectious dis- 2020 and they include a$45.6 million increase in gelical institution in Illinois. vaccine” in a tweet on March do not plan to get vaccinat- ease, a church member who is electricity revenue and a$3.4 millionincrease in natural As vaccines become more 28 that has since been deleted. ed sometimes say they see no a Walter Reed logistics man- gas revenue. widely available, and as wor- “Pass it on,” he wrote. need, because they do not feel agement analyst, and a church risome virus variants develop, Some evangelicals believe at risk. Rates of Covid-19 death elder who is a nurse for the De- Aresidential electricity customer with an average use of the problem takes on new ur- that any Covid restrictions have been about twice as high partment of Veterans Affairs. 600 kilowatt-hours/month can expect an average monthly gency. Significant numbers of – including mask mandates for Black, Hispanic, and Native On the worship stage, in billincrease of $1.81.Aresidential natural gas heating Americans generally are re- and restrictions on in-person Americans as for white Ameri- front of the praise band’s drum customerusing 80 therms/month can expect an average sistant to getting vaccinated, church worship – constitute cans. set, he asked them “all of the monthly bill increase of $0.55. but white evangelicals present oppression. White pastors have largely questions that a follower of Je- unique challenges because of And some have been en- remained quiet. That’s in part sus might have,” he said later. their complex web of moral, ergized by what they see as a because the wariness among “It is necessary for pastors Customers may see some charges prorated on aMay or medical and political objec- battle between faith and fear, white conservative Christians to instruct their people that we June bill to take into account energy deliveredbefore tions.