NEW YORK - The city's largest charter school system is canceling classes through Wednesday as the city works to contain the coronavirus under a state of emergency.

Success Academy will move classes online and begin remote learning next Thursday.

This comes as public pressure continues to mount on Mayor Bill de Blasio and city leaders to close public schools, but de Blasio insists they will stay open as long as possible.

Currently seven schools around the city are closed, and Catholic elementary schools will be closed for at least a week starting on Monday.

As of Friday morning seven schools are closed over the coronavirus.

  • P721R Hungerford 
  • New Dorp High School
  • Brooklyn College Academy
  • P721K @ PB21K
  • P721K @ Kingsbrook Hospital
  • P721K @ John Dewey H.S.
  • P721K Brooklyn Occupational Training Center

City Council Speaker Corey Johnson says schools across the city should close as the outbreak of coronavirus continues to spread.

Speaking with "Mornings On 1", Johnson says it's not time to panic but closing schools could help the city slow the spread of coronavirus.

"These are measures that have been tested and are proven. And have proven to be effective measures in other pandemic settings. And so I think on the question to close schools I think it is appropriate at this time. That we -- instead of doing this in a piecemeal way, we close schools temporarily, come up with a plan," Johnson said.

Any school where a student or faculty member tests positive for the virus will be closed for at least 24 hours.

CUNY and SUNY will switch to online classes beginning next week.

A handful of other charter schools and private K-12 schools have already canceled classes and moved to online classes in recent days.

Two schools that share a building in the Bronx reopened Friday after a student's test for coronavirus came back negative.

The Laboratory School of Finance & Technology and South Bronx Preparatory School in Mott Haven closed Thursday morning after the parents of one student initially said their child had the coronavirus.

Both schools teach grades 6 through 8. 

Thursday night, Schools Chancellor Carranza tweeted that since the student actually does not have the coronavirus, and the building has been disinfected, the schools will reopen with their normal schedules.

Mayor Bill de Blasio says there are at least 95 confirmed cases of COVID-19 coronavirus in the five boroughs. Of those, 29 people are in mandatory quarantine and roughly 1,800 are in voluntary quarantine.

Under the state of emergency, non-essential school activities like sports games and practices, plays and recitals, and assemblies will be moved online or canceled. 

Gatherings of 500 or more people have been banned. 

Smaller gatherings will be only allowed to operate at 50 percent capacity. 

For reference, declaring a state of emergency gives the mayor the ability to establish a curfew, regulate vehicles and people entering certain parts of the city, close down public transportation, ration food and restrict people from being on the street or public places.

It's important to note none of those actions have been taken yet.

There have been a lot of rumors about what's closing and what's not as a result.

To be clear, the MTA is running regular subway and bus service.

Speaking on Thursday, Governor Andrew Cuomo tried to calm concerns that the city will completely shut down.

"New York City is not going to close down. First of all, legally no city in this state can close down, if the state government doesn't want it to close down. So, it's not even a legal possibility. Second, I spoke to the mayor myself, we're on the same page. The same regulations are in effect in New York City that are in effect all across the state," Cuomo said.

If you're struggling to pay rent as a result of the changes, you can visit nyc.gov/accesshra for possible short-term support from the city.

Meantime, New York's first drive through testing site opened Friday in New Rochelle.

The area has the largest number of coronavirus cases in the state.

Testing will be done by appointment only.

New Rochelle residents who have been quarantined will be tested first. 

"It's not only faster and easier, it's also smarter and safer because you're not exposing people to a person who may be positive. Up until now if somebody thinks they're positive they might walk into a hospital," Cuomo said.

The area remains under containment and residents continue to receive food from the National Guard.

Cuomo says the drive through testing will take around 15 minutes. He says it can serve about 200 cars per day. 

The governor on Thursday says the state is trying to determine where extra hospital beds can be found, if needed.  

He said cancellng elective surgeries is also a possibility. 

Governor Cuomo says it's no longer about how many people have the virus, but rather how best to contain it. 

He also said nursing home visits will be restricted, as the elderly population is the most at risk.