Yonkers Public Schools announced Friday afternoon that class will be held fully online from Jan. 3-7.

Superintendent Dr. Edwin Quezada said the decision is based on the uptick in COVID-19 cases in the community and schools.

The announcement comes just hours after Gov. Kathy Hochul announced her 5-point plan to keep schools open amid the winter surge. Part of that plan includes increasing testing and vaccinations.

She says that in this week alone, the state delivered 5.28 million COVID tests to school districts.

Quezada says the district will begin sorting their supply to give each students a test over the next week, that way all students can test before returning to school on Jan. 10.

This week, the district saw an explosion of COVID-19 cases - reporting a 25% positivity rate Wednesday.

Another issue is a shortage of teachers and bus drivers - and Quezada says he worries that will only worsen after New Year's celebrations.

While he believes going remote is the safest option, he is very concerned about the social and emotional wellbeing of students.

Yonkers is not the only school district going remote. Mount Vernon City School District will be remote through Jan. 18.

Quezada says parents of students who still do not have an electronic device should contact their schools Monday to pick one up. All teachers will be teaching remotely during the week.