CDC supplements guidance on reopening schools
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The CDC issued what it called “new science-based resources and tools” to supplement its guidelines for reopening schools safely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement, CDC Director Robert R. Redfield, MD, said it was “critically important for our public health to open schools this fall.”
The new materials “will help parents, teachers and administrators make practical, safety-focused decisions as this school year begins,” Redfield said.
CDC guidelines suggest that schools consider ways to protect students and staff, such as reinforcing the use of face coverings, conducting daily temperature screenings and symptom checks, keeping students and desks 6 feet apart and staggering arrival times.
The new resources include a decision-making tool the CDC said “is designed to help parents, caregivers, and guardians weigh the risks and benefits of available educational options to help them make decisions about sending their child back to school,” and a checklist to help them prepare for the school year.
“It's important that we reopen these schools with the understanding that COVID is still here,” Redfield said. “[We] gave guidance in terms of how to begin to respond to when a student, for example, develops symptoms or when a student is confirmed to be COVID-positive.”
Those steps, according to a guidance document for school administrators, include developing a proactive plan in case a student or staff member tests positive and working with state and local health departments to conduct tracing in the event of a positive test.
The guidance is important to prevent a “knee-jerk answer” following one case, Redfield said.
“It is important for the schools and how they're going to handle it ahead of time, because when a case is identified in a school ... it can be a very emotional response,” Redfield said.
He reinforced the importance of children having in-person instruction and the educational, mental and physical benefits that children receive from attending school.
“They provide safe, supportive learning environments for students, employ teachers and other staff and enable parents, guardians and caregivers to work,” Redfield said. “Schools also provide critical services and help to mitigate health disparities, such as school meal programs, and social physical, behavioral and mental health services.”
White House officials had a hand in writing some of the guidance, which aligns with the administration’s messaging on reopening schools, according to a report in The Washington Post.
Redfield said that the CDC will continue to update its guidelines — not just in regard to school reopenings.
Perspective
Back to TopAmesh A. Adalja, MD
School closures in the United States happened in the spring because of concern for children amplifying transmission of SARS-CoV-2 as they do with influenza. Epidemiological studies, as well as data from schools that have opened in other countries (as well as in Wyoming, Idaho, Montana and Tennessee) and day care centers have not shown younger children to be major drivers of spread and to be largely spared from severe consequences of the disease. As more schools begin to reopen, it will be crucial for them to have a trusted source of guidance that helps decision-making on such issues as physical layout, mitigation measures, processes for exposures, principles for minimizing risk to vulnerable populations and myriad other elements of school life. The CDC guidance — the actual documents, not the press release — contains many important documents, checklists and decision tools. I urge people to look through the actual guidance and not just the news stories or press releases. Unfortunately, the partisanship that has been injected into this discussion has made this process unnecessarily more difficult. It remains, as the AAP and National Academies have noted, a priority to open schools, and it can be done safely in most states. However, it requires the guidance of public health agencies whose work should not be disrupted by intrusions from politicians.
Perspective
Back to TopHelen Y. Chu, MD, MPH
In the same way that hospitals and public utilities are essential, so is the education of our children. The key is to develop a strategy to reopen schools safely, as many other countries around the world are doing. The longer schools stay closed, the more the equity gap will widen, and the more cases of child hunger, abuse, and neglect will increase.
Reopening schools while community prevalence is rising in the hot spots is unsafe, and will only lead to new outbreaks and increase risk for transmission to students, teachers and staff. However, in parts of the U.S. where prevalence is below 5% and the local epidemic is under control, we must move as urgently as possible toward in-person education. Realistically, we will not be able to bring all children back full time. It is not feasible during a pandemic when resources are spread so thin, and it is also likely not necessary. We need to weigh risks and benefits for each of the age groups. Children aged younger than 10 years are least likely to transmit to others and are the most likely to benefit from in-person instruction. They should be prioritized for in-person instruction.
The guidelines put together by the CDC detail evidence-based guidelines for school reopening, and they make a lot of sense. Universal masking and frequent handwashing will decrease transmission; symptom screening will help keep sick kids at home; and physical distancing, use of barriers, and increased disinfection of high-touch surfaces will prevent spread via fomites. However, an important piece that is missing is the role of testing for educators and for students. Test availability is a major issue in the U.S. — there are now reports of delays up to a week for a test result, which is unsustainable for early detection of cases and prevention of outbreaks in classrooms. As schools reopen, I believe that schools should be prioritized for testing, and that we additionally need to rely on novel home-based strategies to test sick kids at home, rather than once they arrive at the school nurses’ office and potentially have exposed others.
I hope that we are able to advocate for children, to make sure they receive the education they deserve, and to open schools in as safe a manner as possible.
Perspective
Back to TopLawrence O. Gostin, JD
School is a vital part of educating the next generation, but we must do so safely. CDC tells us what we already know and little more. We know that remote learning is safest, small classes are medium risk, and full classes are high risk. The CDC is not offering Americans its world-class expertise. Here is what is painfully deficient. There are no new resources for schools, no surge in testing, tracing, no plan or funding for creating large, safer outdoor spaces. We are shortcutting on safety, placing our children and their families at risk.
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