The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) could, on Wednesday, set requirements for schools to reopen, President Biden said in an interview that aired Sunday.
Biden told Norah O’Donnell of CBS in an interview that aired partly before the Super Bowl that he believed “it is time for schools to reopen safely” after calling it a “national emergency” that some 20 million of American children have not been in a classroom for almost a year.
“You need to have fewer people in the classroom,” he said. “You have to have ventilation systems that have been redesigned. Our CDC commissioner will come out with a science-based trial, I think as early as Wednesday to define what the minimum requirements are. “
When O’Donnell said it is “very difficult for children not to be able to play sports now”, the president replied, “It really is.”
“I think of the price that so many of my grandchildren and their children are going to pay for not having a chance to finish anything,” he said. “That graduation when you couldn’t cross the stage. I think they are going through a lot, these children. “
“I think it’s time for schools to reopen safely,” Pres. Biden says @NorahODonnell.
In addition to smaller classes and reworked ventilation, Pres. Biden says CDC director Rochelle WalenskyRochelle WalenskyMaine warns against Super Bowl parties. Republicans seek to attack Democrats by reopening schools. The CDC says schools are safe, but Biden continues to ignore science, doctors MORE will set minimum requirements for reopening as early as Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/62VDKoNuNH
– CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) February 7, 2021
Schools across the country are evaluating whether to reopen face-to-face teaching, which is widely considered more effective for learning, or to maintain remote learning, as the coronavirus continues to spread throughout the United States.
Biden had promised to reopen schools in his first 100 days as president, but that goal could face obstacles as new strains of COVID-19, considered more contagious, circulated around the country.
Teacher unions and school districts disagree whether the current plans are safe for children and staff to return to face-to-face learning, especially in Chicago and Minneapolis, with some pushing for stronger vaccination plans.
CDC director Rochelle Welensky said last week that vaccinating teachers “is not a prerequisite for the safe reopening of schools.
The US is close to 27 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and has reached more than 463,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.