write a debate on school should admit reopen during covid-19 (100-120) words but some different from chrome
Answers
The question of whether schools can and should reopen in the fall is becoming fraught. While so far the research suggests that children are not at a high risk of getting severe Covid-19, there are still several risks.
Increasing data has suggested that while children can get Covid-19, if they do get it, the symptoms are typically very mild. In most cases, according to health economist Emily Oster, 97% of confirmed cases in children are asymptomatic, mild, or moderate. They also do not seem to get infected at rates as high as those of adults. But as the New York Times recently pointed out, many of the studies showing that children are not major spreaders of Covid-19 use data collected in countries in lockdown or where strict prevention measures are in place. Since data shows children can get Covid-19 and they can spread it (even if it’s less likely), there’s a risk of children transmitting the virus to school employees or bringing it home and spreading it to family members.
There are lots of precautions that can be put into place to try and avoid the spread, like keeping students in small groups, avoiding activities like field trips, and using strict distancing and cleaning measures. All of these options are shared by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which has argued that it’s important for children to go to school in person for the sake of learning and to receive benefits like meals and mental health care.
Not opening schools means putting an enormous pressure on working parents to continue to navigate jobs, online learning, and childcare. Many parents have come to rely on school — including before- and after-care programming — as childcare while they work. The Trump administration has hammered home the risks to the American economy if schools do not open. But teachers have voiced concern about their personal safety, and that of the risk of continued spread if schools open. The reopening of schools requires adults to congregate. And that puts teachers and school staff at risk. In an Arizona school district, three teachers conducting virtual learning in a shared room caught and spread Covid-19, and one of the teachers died.
As the Wall Street Journal recently reported, Israel reopened schools on May 17, and since then there have been at least 1,335 students and 691 staff who have become infected. These infections are now being blamed for a surge of cases in the country. However, as the WSJ points out in the article, several European countries (22 countries to be exact) have reopened schools without the same spike in cases. The difference? At least according to the article, schools in places like the Netherlands and Denmark imposed very strict physical distancing measures among the students. Israel, on the other hand, had stopped imposing physical distancing by mid-May, and when classes returned, they returned to full size. Experts say it’s hard to know whether the spread of cases in Israel is due to schools reopening, or if it’s due to the economy reopening generally, and more lax regulations overall.
Herein lies a major problem, and hopefully a lesson, for the United States. With cases of Covid-19 surging in many places throughout the United States, it’s harder to envision American schools having the same success as schools in Europe. Some of the largest school districts, like Los Angeles and San Diego, have already decided that school will be virtual for the coming school year. In New York state, schools will only open if they are in a region with a 14-day average infection rate of 5% or lower.
Whether or not schools reopen may be contingent — at least in some places — on the transmission rate of the virus overall. As Oster recently shared on Twitter, “The prospect for kids of no schools, or online schools, or partially in-person schools is really devastating.” But she adds, “Even if schools are not themselves major vectors, there are places which need a more full lockdown like, right now. How have we let bars and indoor dining be open and are not focused on schools? Where are the resources? I cannot see an end, or solutions. I’m sad.” Many families may agree.
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