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QUEENS, New York — Acting Queens Borough President Sharon Lee is recommending parents keep their children home from school this week amid the growing coronavirus outbreak.

“I strongly urge all Queens families, in no uncertain terms, to keep all children home away from school this week,” Lee said in a statement on Sunday.

Mayor Bill de Blasio has refused to close public schools despite mounting calls to do so from teachers, parents, unions and some politicians.

New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer also is calling for schools to be shut down.

“We cannot go on with business as usual,” he tweeted.

On Saturday, the United Federation of Teachers urged parents in a letter to demand de Blasio close schools. A separate online petition has garnered over 290,000 signatures.