Report: Internal CDC Documents Warned Full Reopening of Schools Would Be ‘Highest Risk’ For Spreading Coronavirus
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As President Donald Trump aims to have students back in school by Fall, internal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) documents warn that fully reopening schools would be “highest risk” for spreading the coronavirus, according to the New York Times.
The 69-page report labeled “For Internal Use Only” was compiled to assist federal public health response teams in dealing with coronavirus hot spots. The document includes reopening plans and proposals in line with CDC guidelines, for state and district schools along with universities.
Most of the document is made up of already publicly available CDC documents, according to the Times. Schools and universities are set to reopen in approximately another month, with some announcing all class instruction with be done online.
Vice President Mike Pence announced during a White House briefing on Wednesday that the CDC would release their guidelines for reopening schools next week adding, “we just don’t want the guidance to be too tough,” according to CNN.
Trump voiced his own criticisms of the agency on Wednesday in a tweet, “I disagree with @CDCgov on their very tough & expensive guidelines for opening schools. While they want them open, they are asking schools to do very impractical things. I will be meeting with them!!!
I disagree with @CDCgov on their very tough & expensive guidelines for opening schools. While they want them open, they are asking schools to do very impractical things. I will be meeting with them!!!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 8, 2020
“I can tell you that those guidance that we put out are out, and they stand,” CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield told CNN host Anderson Cooper. “But at the end of the day, these guidances are just that — they’re guidances, which the local schools and districts need to then incorporate into a practical, real plan that they can operationalize to begin to get these young people back to school safely.”
It has not been confirmed if the president has been briefed on the CDC’s report.
