New York City, Los Angeles to send students back to school

The city's 1.1 million public school students have adopted different learning practices so far this year. Some have split their time between school and home, while others are still being taught full time by "remote learning". Neither of those options will be offered as of September, de Blasio said.

In Los Angeles County, all students in elementary, middle and high schools - more than 600,000 pupils - would be allowed to attend class full time, said district superintendent Austin Beutner. However, students and some teachers would have the option to remain at home, he said.

United Teachers Los Angeles, the union representing most teachers in the district, has resisted fully reopening schools until additional health and safety measures are in place.

New York and Los Angeles join New Jersey and several other states reopening schools as officials make progress tackling the spread of the coronavirus.

Nationwide, the number of new infections fell to a seven-day average of 22,877 on Sunday, the lowest since June and less than one-tenth of its post-holiday peak of more than 250,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.