(Reuters) – U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidelines on Friday for reopening U.S. schools, recommending universal use of masks and physical distancing as key strategies for mitigating COVID-19 to get kids back to the classroom quickly.
The guidelines here, which also emphasize the need for facility cleaning, personal hygiene and contact tracking, are intended to provide school districts with a roadmap to return the country’s 55 million public school students. in classrooms without causing COVID-19 outbreaks.
“We believe, with the strategies we have proposed, that there will be no limited transmissions to schools if they are followed,” CDC principal Rochelle Walensky told reporters, noting that the CDC did not force schools to reopen. .
The agency also said school reopening should not be conditioned on teachers’ access to COVID-19 vaccines, but strongly recommended that U.S. states give priority to teachers and school staff for vaccination.
President Joe Biden vowed to open most K-8 schools within 100 days of taking office on January 20. He praised the CDC guidelines on Friday and emphasized issues arising from the continued closure of schools, including children’s mental health struggles and the exodus of staff from parents.
“We have sacrificed a lot in the last year. But science tells us that if we support our children, educators and communities with the resources they need, we can get children back to school safely in more parts of the country sooner, ”Biden said in a statement.
Only 44% of U.S. school districts offered full face-to-face learning in December and 31% operated remotely, according to the Center for the Reinvention of Public Education, which examined 477 of the nearly 13,000 school districts in the United States. the nation. Other districts have used a hybrid learning model, where students attend some school days face-to-face and others virtually.
School reopenings have sparked labor disputes between teachers ’unions, who fear for the safety of their members, and school districts in major U.S. cities. In Chicago this week, the teachers ’union and district reached an agreement on a security plan after months of negotiations that included strike threats.
On Friday, the American Federation of Teachers, which has about 1.7 million members, praised the CDC guidelines for relying on “facts and evidence.”
“We urge the CDC to stay flexible as more data comes to light. The guide is instructive at this time, but this disease is not static,” AFT President Randi Weingarten said in a statement. communiqué.
FLEXIBLE APPROACH
The CDC’s phase-mitigation strategy is adaptable based on the level of COVID-19 transmission in a school community.
In areas where the positive COVID-19 test rate is less than 5% and there have been fewer than nine new cases per 100,000 in the last seven days, schools can completely reopen and safely relax social distancing measures. as long as masks are worn, Walensky said. In higher transmission areas, the agency urges to separate 1.83 m (6 feet) apart in classrooms and conduct weekly tests of students, teachers and staff.
Elementary school students should learn face-to-face at least part-time, even in high-transmission areas, the guide says.
Recent studies have shown that face-to-face learning has not been associated with an increase in community transmission, especially in primary schools.
House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy criticized Friday’s reopening guidelines for not being bold enough to ensure students returned to classrooms promptly.
“Families and students deserve better. They need iron-clad guarantees that their children will be able to return to the classroom environment that offers the best educational model, ”McCarthy said in a statement.
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, said Friday that House committees were working to pass legislation on Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion U.S. bailout plan, which includes an investment of $ 130 billion that could help schools follow CDC protocols, to help schools enforce CDC guidelines.
“Without strong congressional attendance, our schools cannot afford to apply science-based safety precautions,” Pelosi said in a statement.
Reports by Gabriella Borter in Boca Raton, Florida, Jarrett Renshaw in Philadelphia and Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington; Edited by Colleen Jenkins, David Gregorio and Matthew Lewis