Psaki Reacts to CDC Guidelines for Reopening Schools Safely

Schools should use masks and social distancing to safely resume in-person learning as soon as possible, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Friday.

The agency outlined five mitigation strategies that include the proper use of masks, social distancing of six feet where community transmission is high, strict cleaning and maintenance of classrooms, and frequent testing and rapid contact tracing.

CDC chief Rochelle Walensky also urged states to make vaccinating teachers a priority, though she did not call it a prerequisite for reopenings. Schools should also do all they can to improve ventilation, she said.

While the guidance doesn’t mandate that schools be reopened, it notes that the data available show “in-person learning in schools has not been associated with substantial community transmission,” the CDC said in documents released Friday.

“It is critical for schools to open as safely and as quickly as possible for in-person learning,” according to the CDC guidance. “To enable schools to open and remain open, it is important to adopt and correctly and consistently implement actions to slow the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, not only inside the school, but also in the community.”

Whether students should physically attend school has been among the most contentious issues of the U.S. pandemic response. The stakes are high for President Joe Biden, who has made ending the coronavirus crisis a central goal.

Many children in the U.S. have been learning online for almost a year, as last spring many U.S. schools were closed to thwart the spread of the coronavirus. Some teachers have opposed reopening classrooms because of health concerns. States are starting to offer Covid-19 vaccines to teachers, though supplies are limited and finding an appointment can be difficult.

In some cities, local officials have been fighting teachers unions on how and whether it’s safe for teachers and students to be in the the classroom, leaving students in online limbo as major school districts decide how to proceed.

Schools should be safe for in-person learning if the new guidelines are met, National Education Association President Becky Pringle said in a statement.

“Schools should be the safest place in any community,” Pringle said. “Now that we have clear CDC guidance, state and local decision makers need to be able to look educators, students, and parents in the eyes and ensure that with full confidence.”

Biden, in an interview with CBS News that aired Sunday, reiterated his view that schools should “reopen safely” soon.

The CDC recently released a paper that found few student coronavirus cases in a rural Wisconsin county were tied to spread at school, increasing pressure on the Biden administration to recommend reopening schools.

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