School closures have been a controversial issue since the beginning of the pandemic, and a new study has sparked debate about the six-foot rule of social distance and whether it can be relaxed in classroom environments, which would facilitate the return of children. children to schools.
The new study, published last week in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, suggests that public schools may be able to safely reopen for face-to-face classes, as long as children keep one meter between them and with other mitigation measures maintained, such as the use of masks.
Jill Biden and members of her husband’s administration have been traveling on a planned campaign to reopen schools safely, while parents and educators are increasingly frustrated with district-to-district intermittency and intermittency policies.
Asked about Jake Tapper’s new report on CNN’s “State of the Union” program on Sunday, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the country’s leading infectious disease expert, agreed that the study seemed to indicate that three feet would be enough distance to contain the transmission of the virus.
No official guidance on shortening the recommended six-foot rule has yet been issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, although Dr. Fauci said the agency is studying the data.
“What the CDC wants is to accumulate data and, when the data shows the capacity to be one meter, they will act accordingly,” said Fauci. He added that the agency’s director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, was aware of the new research and that the CDC was also conducting its own studies. “I don’t want to get ahead of official guidelines,” he said.
While the CDC board remains at a six-foot social distance between students, the World Health Organization recommended a meter or 3.3 feet away, and the study found that the latter was sufficient to limit school-related cases. The CDC’s recommendations call for a social distance of almost two meters in schools located in counties with high transmission rates from Covid. CDC officials could not be reached for comment on Sunday.
Some experts thought that moderating the recommendations for social distance can be an important step in bringing children back to classrooms. Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, suggested in a tweet that the CDC’s orientation may be changing, and that’s “good. Because 6 feet does not protect teachers. But it keeps children out of school. “
“Do you want to open schools safely? Masks. Ventilation. Testing. Vaccinate teachers / staff. That’s the list, ”Dr. Jha tweeted.
The new study, published on March 10, compared the incidence rates of coronavirus cases among students and staff in Massachusetts school districts that required at least six feet of separation with those that required only three feet away, and found no differences statistically significant in infection rates among team members or students.
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Updated on March 9, 2021
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The researchers, who controlled coronavirus rates in the community in their analysis, concluded that policies with less physical distance can be safely adopted in school settings, as long as other measures, such as universal masking – are in place.
The study authors examined the rates of coronavirus infections among staff and students in approximately 242 school districts in Massachusetts, with varying levels of face-to-face instruction from September 24 to January 27, 2021.
Children are less likely to need hospitalization when infected with the coronavirus, and children under 10 are less likely to be infected than adolescents. But the true incidence of infections may not be known because children and adolescents are much less likely than adults to develop serious illnesses and are less likely to be tested.