'CLOSURES ARE HARMFUL'
CDC says schools SHOULD reopen ‘while taking every precaution’ after Trump slammed ‘tough earlier recommendation’
NEW CDC guidelines urge schools across the country to re-open this fall, days after President Trump said the agency was being too "tough".
A statement from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Thursday is an about-face from its previously more cautious stance, as surges across the US.
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The , titled "The Importance of Reopening America’s Schools This Fall,” takes a strong stance in favor of re-opening in-person classes across the nation, emphasizing the benefits and downplaying risks.
"If children become infected, they are far less likely to suffer severe symptoms," the statement says.
"Death rates among school-aged children are much lower than among adults.";
According to the new CDC advice, the gains of students returning to school outweigh any drawbacks.
"At the same time, the harms attributed to closed schools on the social, emotional, and behavioral health, economic well-being, and academic achievement of children, in both the short- and long-term, are well-known and significant."
"Extended school closures are harmful to children’s development of social and emotional skills. "
It also notes that underprivileged children will be especially disadvantaged if schools don't re-open, because "many low-income families do not have the capacity to facilitate distance learning."
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"Lack of in-person educational options disproportionately harms low-income and minority children and those living with disabilities.
"These students are far less likely to have access to private instruction and care and far more likely to rely on key school-supported resources like food programs, special education services, counseling, and after-school programs to meet basic developmental needs."
Addressing concerns that children could be carriers for covid-19 and infect their parents, grandparents or other relatives, the document claims "there have been few reports of children being the primary source of COVID-19 transmission among family members."
"This is consistent with data from both virus and antibody testing, suggesting that children are not the primary drivers of COVID-19 spread in schools or in the community," it says.
It comes after to states and school districts.
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The agency had issued a nine-page checklist to help schools determine their readiness to resume in-person classes.
"I disagree with @CDCgov on their very tough & expensive guidelines for opening schools," tweeted.
"While they want them open, they are asking schools to do very impractical things. I will be meeting with them!!!"
He reiterated this on Thursday, saying, “We cannot indefinitely stop 50 million American children from going to school."
“Reopening our schools is also critical to ensuring that parents can go to work and provide for their families," he said, threatening to cut off funding to schools that do not re-open for in-person classes in the fall.
But even the US Surgeon General has broken with the Trump administration about reopening schools, saying a return to classrooms should wait until the COVID-19 transmission rate drops.
"What I want people to know is the biggest determinant of whether or not we can go back to school actually has little to nothing to do with the actual schools — it’s your background transmission rate," on Tuesday.
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“Those public health measures are actually what's going to lower the transmission rate,” he said.
Adams acknowledged that young students are a low risk for coronavirus, but said they could put teachers and adults in danger when the transmission rate is high.
"We know the risk is low to the actual students, but we know they can transmit to others,” Adams said.
“We need to take measures to make sure we protect those who are vulnerable either because they are older or they have chronic medical conditions.”
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