Joe Biden Calls for Reopening Schools ‘As Rapidly As We Can’: ‘There’s a Lot We Can Do’ To Increase Safety

President-Elect Joe Biden is in favor of reopening schools “as rapidly as we can” with the implementation of protective measures to account for the coronavirus.

Biden spoke to NBC’s Lester Holt about the process for rolling out a coronavirus vaccine,  switching gears to add “I think we should also be focusing on being able to open schools as rapidly as we can. I think it can be done safely.”

Holt honed in on what will Biden do to get kids back in school, noting that several areas around the country have gone back to at-home learning due to Covid spikes. Biden responded that it would take billions of dollars to get kids back in school while implementing new ventilation systems and safety measures to keep people protected.

“You’ve got schools closed right now in places where restaurants are open,” Holt said. “Are our priorities correct?”

“I think we should be able to do both,” Biden said. “I was on a call yesterday with Mayor De Blasio, the largest school district in the country. He is in a position where it costs tens of millions of dollars to be able to safely open the schools. So there’s a lot we can do, but the single best expenditure of our dollars we can engage in now is to provide for these kinds of protections.”

Biden also suggested that this approach toward protective gear would also help businesses and other places get back on their feet.

Watch above, via NBC.