NEW YORK: Public schools in New York City ’s 1.1 million-student district will be shuttered for the rest of the academic year, but online education will continue as the city struggles to contain the outbreak, mayor Bill de Blasio announced Saturday. It was not an easy decision to close schools, de Blasio said, “but it is the right decision”.The goal is to reopen school sites by September, and high school graduates may be denied a commencement ceremony, de Blasio said. School buildings in New York City, the US epicentre of the pandemic, have been closed since March 16.