CDC: Schools, 'Safest Place' Kids Can Be; Closing Schools an 'Emotional' Response, Have No Scientific Basis

With the backup of data and scientific studies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Director, Dr. Robert Redfield, said in a press conference that K-12 schools should continue to open. The data Dr. Redfield states that schools are among the safest places kids can go to amid pandemic, whilst stating that attempts in closing the education establishments are nothing more than an emotional response.

According to a video on Twitter posted by Curtis Houck, Dr. Redfield mentions that there are extensive data that the organization has gathered over the last two to three months that can confirm K-12 schools will be able to operate with face-to-face learning whilst doing it safely and responsibly. Dr. Redfield added that infections they could identify in schools when evaluated by CDC did not come from the school itself, but they were acquired in their household and their community. 

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CDC: Transmission gets prevalent in family gatherings and community more than the academe

Dr. Redfield also highlights what Dr. Birx from the White House coronavirus task force said in the press conference, stating that the big threat for COVID-19 transmission is not the public square. Still, with small family gatherings, people become more comfortable, which results in the removal of their face masks. 

Earlier in October, Dr. Deborah Brix was concerned about the spike of COVID-19 cases, specifically in the North-Eastern part, saying how more people are becoming infected because of indoor family gatherings and social events. In an interview with AP News, she said that during these gatherings, people are letting their guards down, removing masks, and not engaging in physical distancing during these gatherings, which is a lesson learned in the southern part. 

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Dr. Redfield highlighted in the press conference that the coronavirus spread does not occur in interschool transmission. From their perspective, Dr. Redfield added that for kids, K-12 schools are one of the safest places they can stay, and he also stressed the importance of following the data and making sure that decisions in closing and what not to close are not made through emotions. He also notes that institutes of higher learning are not the place where problems regarding COVID-19 arose. 

CDC's call for cooperation

In the press conference, Dr. Redfield also said that threats of suicide, seasonal flu, and drugs pose greater risks to kids than COVID-19. Dr. Redfield further said that greater deaths caused by drug overdose are above excess their backgrounds than deaths from coronavirus. He then heeds a call to work together and figure out how the schools will operate to be comfortable and secure enough. He also stressed that the ultimate goal is to get all the kids back to education face to face five days a week. 

Dr. Redfield also stated that this is also for the children who do not have underlying comorbidity that would preclude the schools' operation. He also hopes that the federal government will collaborate in overseeing the resources to make the schools fully operational. 

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