CITY HALL -- Staten Island’s elected officials are urging New York City to close down the public school system to stop the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), as Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza have yet to make a call.

In a joint statement from Borough President James Oddo, Rep. Max Rose (D-Staten Island/Brooklyn), District Attorney Michael McMahon and all Staten Island members of the State Senate, State Assembly and City Council, the elected officials called on the city to close schools at least for next week.

“Following a meeting today at Borough Hall, we are calling on Mayor Bill de Blasio to close New York City Public Schools, grades 3-K through 12, for one week to allow for all school buildings to be completely sanitized and to allow for further assessment of the COVID-19 situation, to be reassessed at the end of that week," the statement reads. “Essential to this plan is developing a program to allow for children who need shelter and food to be cared for during this time.”

“In addition, we are reiterating our position on closing Senior Centers throughout the City to safeguard older adults who are in the high-risk category, pending an appropriate course of action to ensure safety and nutrition for all seniors in the program.”

The Staten Island elected officials join other members of the council in calling on schools to close.

“It is time to close our public schools for the safety and wellbeing of the students, teachers, and staff," City Council Speaker Corey Johnson said Friday.

“This is not an easy decision, but we must take aggressive measures to stop the spread of coronavirus/COVID-19. Teaching and learning cannot take place under these circumstances,” he continued.

Johnson called on the city to “immediately” come up with a plan for childcare relief for families in need of assistance and to ensure meals and medical care is given to students.

The rush to close the schools comes as 95 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in New York City alone, which includes five cases on Staten Island. Parents and teachers have also urged the city to close schools.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said he expects the number of confirmed cases to rise to 1,000 citywide by next week.

But despite the uptick in cases, de Blasio said he wants to keep the city’s public schools, mass transit, and healthcare system up and running at “at all costs.”

The decision to keep the schools open is to help students in need of meals and parents who rely on the school system to be able to work, the mayor has said.

"For the safety of our students, teachers, principals and all faculty and staff, DOE should close schools beginning next week,” Minority Leader Steven Matteo (R-Mid Island) said. "Parents should not be forced to make this choice, nor should we have to wait for someone to test positive for COVID19 to close a school,” adding that officials can reassess the situation at the end of the next week.

Councilman Joe Borelli (R-South Shore) thinks the number of confirmed cases on the Island will only continue to quickly multiply in the coming days and parents will pull their kids out of schools if the city does not close them regardless.

Borelli said someone recently tested positive for the coronavirus at the YMCA on the South Shore where his son goes to preschool, which has forced the school to close down.

“School closures are an inevitability whether the mayor understands them or not,” said Borelli said.

Earlier this week, Brooklyn Councilman Mark Treyger (D) shared a “temporary contingency plan” with the Department of Education that would direct schools to move to a summer school model where school sites are combined into a few buildings in each borough to service students.

Treyger’s plan would move to that type of model where schools could provide grab and go meals to the most vulnerable students and keep those schools fully staffed with healthcare professionals to give students any medical services they require.

Parents who cannot put their children in childcare would also have the option to send their kids to those schools.

But the mayor said Friday he had yet to see Treyger’s plan and continued to push back on the notion of a full public school shut down.

“We should not have an illusion that if you close schools kids are not going to still be connecting with other kids and family members and be out and around,” the mayor said on “The Brian Lehrer Show” Friday in response to the White House’s Coronavirus Task Force’s Dr. Anthony Fauci, who said forceful mitigation requirements would be needed, like school closures, if there was significant community spread of the virus.

“The notion that we’re going to isolate every child from the rest of their family, I think is very suspect, I think, in fact, it puts tremendous strain on families,” de Blasio continued.

For now, the state is only requiring that if a student or staff member tests positive for COVID-19 a school will be closed for at least 24 hours. The local Health Department will notify schools if and when a school must close due to COVID-19.

CUOMO SAYS LOCALITY CAN CLOSE SCHOOLS IF THEY WANT

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday that any superintendent can decide to close their local school district during the outbreak if they think it is necessary.

“It’s a local decision, it’s not a state decision,” the governor said of school closures at a press conference. “The only mandate we have is if you have a positive [coronavirus] child, you must close for 24 hours, but you have many school districts that are closing for one reason or another.”

Like de Blasio, Cuomo cautioned that a mass school closure was not without its “consequences.”

The Department of Education confirmed Friday that a student who attends the Hungerford program at New Dorp High School tested positive for COVID-19, forcing the school to close for at least 24 hours, beginning Friday.

Earlier this week, Cuomo announced the State University of New York (SUNY) and the City University of New York (CUNY) classes would move online next week for the remainder of the spring 2020 semester.

FULL STATEMENT FROM STATEN ISLAND REPS

Following is a joint statement by Borough President Oddo, Rep Max Rose, District Attorney Michael E. McMahon, state Sen. Diane Savino, state Sen. Andrew Lanza, Assemblyman Michael Cusick, Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis, Assemblyman Mike Reilly, Assemblyman Charles Fall, Councilman Steven Matteo, Councilman Joe Borelli, and Councilwoman Debi Rose:

“Following a meeting today at Borough Hall, we are calling on Mayor Bill de Blasio to close New York City Public Schools, grades 3-K through 12, for one week to allow for all school buildings to be completely sanitized and to allow for further assessment of the COVID-19 situation, to be reassessed at the end of that week. Essential to this plan is developing a program to allow for children who need shelter and food to be cared for during this time.

“In addition, we are reiterating our position on closing Senior Centers throughout the City to safeguard older adults who are in the high-risk category, pending an appropriate course of action to ensure safety and nutrition for all seniors in the program.”

FOLLOW SYDNEY KASHIWAGI ON TWITTER.