CDC Recommends 3 Feet Between Elementary School Students in Classrooms

Students can safely sit just 3 feet apart in the classroom as long as they wear masks but should be kept the usual 6 feet away from one another at sporting events, assemblies, lunch or chorus practice, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday in relaxing its COVID-19 guidelines.

The revised recommendations represent a turn away from the 6-foot standard that has sharply limited how many students some schools can accommodate. Some places have had to remove desks, stagger scheduling and take other steps to keep children apart.

The new guidance:

- Removes recommendations for plastic shields or other barriers between desks. “We don't have a lot of evidence of their effectiveness” in preventing transmission said Greta Massetti, who leads the CDC's community interventions task force.

- Advises at least 3 feet of space between desks in elementary schools, even in towns and cities where community spread is high, so long as students and teachers wear masks and take other precautions.

- Says spacing can also be 3 feet in middle and high schools, so long as there is not a high level of spread in the community. If there is, spacing should be at least 6 feet.

The CDC said 6 feet should still be maintained in common areas, such as school lobbies, and when masks can't be worn, such as when eating.

Also, students should be kept 6 feet apart in situations where there are a lot of people talking, cheering or singing, all of which can expel droplets containing the coronavirus. That includes chorus practice, assemblies and sports events.

Teachers and other adults should continue to stay 6 feet from one another and from students, the CDC said.

Jeffrey Zients, the White House COVID response coordinator, also spelled out how the U.S. intends to loan a total of four million doses of AstraZeneca to Canada and Mexico. The vaccine is not yet approved for use in the U.S., and Zients said the loan will not reduce the supply of available vaccines to Americans.

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