Schools and college facilities in New York will remain closed for the remainder of the academic year, Governor Andrew Cuomo on Friday announced.

A decision on whether summer school session will be held will be made at the end of May, Cuomo said.

"We must protect our children,” Cuomo said. “Every parent and citizen feels that."

Schools statewide have been closed since March 19, though many districts moved to close their doors earlier amid rising concerns surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.

Meal programs and child care services for the children of essential workers will continue, Cuomo said.

Distancing learning will also have to continue, he added.

Cuomo wants school districts now to begin developing a plan for safely reopening, including cleaning and social distancing procedures.

But at the moment, schools cannot accommodate reopening for more than 4 million students across the state.

State education officials have already cancelled examinations for state testing this year and into the summer.

School officials, meanwhile, are bracing for potentially sizable spending cuts this month given the frozen tax revenue due to the economic shutdown stemming from the pandemic.

New York’s “pause” order closing essential businesses remains in effect until May 15, though it is likely regions of upstate New York will open first, while the order will be extended.

Still, there are signs New York was making progress on fighting the virus.

Coronavirus hospitalizations continued to decline in the state, while the daily death toll fell below 300 people for the first time in weeks.

Still, new coronavirus hospitalizations continue, flattening out at nearly 1,000 new patients a day.