Last school year, three of Tsai’s children took remote classes, and when two of her kids went back to school in March, they contracted Covid-19 and infected their siblings. Now, as cases rise and there are active cases in all three schools her children attend, Tsai said “I’m not sure that school is 100% safe.”

Back To WFH
Businesses in the city are already taking steps to protect their employees and customers. 

Jefferies Financial Group Inc., Citigroup Inc. and Bank of Montreal have told staffers to work from home. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began requiring vaccines to enter its Manhattan headquarters and moved its January annual health-care conference online. 

“The pace of the past week in terms of the increase in the number of cases and hospitalizations has shaken everybody,” said Kathryn Wylde, president and chief executive officer of the Partnership for New York City, a business group. “It’s something that we had hoped we were beyond.”

An October survey by the partnership showed 50% of office workers were expected back in workplaces by the end of January, but that number is now “questionable,” Wylde said, noting that companies are pushing back return dates and canceling gatherings.

Broadway, which was shut down for 18 months and only reopened in September, has canceled several shows this week because of Covid-19 cases, including “Hamilton,” “Tina” and “Mrs. Doubtfire.”

Out of an abundance of caution, performances are being cancelled today, Thursday, December 16 through Sunday, December 19 due to the detection of positive COVID test results in the company. pic.twitter.com/0TW3YbyhpB
—Doubtfire On Broadway (@DoubtfireBway) December 16, 2021

Contento, a Peruvian restaurant in East Harlem, closed Tuesday after a fully vaccinated staffer got Covid. Contento closed in March 2020 and had reopened in June 2021.  

Yannick Benjamin, co-owner of Contento, said he aims to reopen next week but is prepared to miss the lucrative holiday season if Covid cases get worse. “We’ll figure it out and we’ll get ourselves back,” he said.

‘At That Point Again’
The spike in cases is making many New Yorkers rethink concerts, shows and holiday gatherings—especially with testing centers again being hard to access and at-home kits disappearing from store shelves. 

Crystal Hudson, an incoming Brooklyn City Council member, tried to get a PCR test on Wednesday after getting exposed to Covid but couldn’t find any appointments near her and had to go to Manhattan. She then also tried to get a rapid test on Thursday at a van near her, but the line stretched down the block. “Testing shouldn’t be this difficult,” she said. “We’re still in the middle of a pandemic.”

The city said Thursday it would open five new testing sites next week and distribute half a million at-home rapid tests and a million masks to fend off omicron.