The top U.S. public health agency and Education Department (ED) are echoing the White House’s calls to reopen schools amid the coronavirus pandemic.
On Friday, officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told reporters that the agency has been consulting with states and schools to help them with their reopening plans.
“President Trump is leading a great American recovery — an essential part of that recovery is getting our kids back in school,” ED Deputy Secretary Mitchell Zais added on the call. “The default needs to be that schools are fully open and operational in the fall so that students can resume full-time learning. And in areas where there are hotspots, remote and distance learning might need to be adopted for a certain amount of time.”
Zais asserted that the “research and science continue to suggest that it is safer, healthier, and better for students to be in school full time,” stressing that to the department, “it’s not a matter of if it should be done, but rather how it must be done.”
President Donald Trump told reporters on Thursday that reopening schools is “critical to ensuring that parents can go to work and provide for their families.” On Friday, Zais noted: “The urgency is real.”
Reporter