New CDC Guidelines For Safe Reopening Of Schools To Be Released Next Week

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will release its guidance on safe reopening of schools next week, Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday, July 8, during a White House coronavirus task force press briefing.

Pence clarified the CDC guidance is only a set of recommendations and will not supersede any state and local decision making. Since mid-May, the health agency's website included recommendations on the reopening of schools, and now guidelines were added recently on COVID-19 testing in schools.

During the briefing, CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield also agreed with the stance of the task force on the importance of reopening schools. He said the additional guidelines of the CDC must not be used as a basis for keeping schools closed.

Redfield added the agency is ready to work with states and communities to arrive at the best strategies for schools to again open.

"It'd be very disappointing if individuals were using guidelines for not reopening schools," he said.

The CDC director also pointed out that children seem to be less vulnerable to the virus. He explained the coronavirus has limited ability to cause considerable illness in children.

Wednesday's announcement came a few hours after President Donald Trump tweeted saying he did not agree with the health agency's "very tough & expensive guidelines for opening schools."

However, Dr. Deborah Birx, the task force's coordinator, said the data on coronavirus cases among school-age children is very limited. She revealed children below 10 represent the least-tested group in the United States. Birx also brought up the question of how to best test the children for the virus. Currently, the decision of how to test children has been left to the schools, state and local health officials.

Birx said it would be easier for children to undergo spit tests, which tries to find the virus in saliva. The tests, however, are not widely available yet and it is not clear whether they will be available for schools in the south where classes usually start in August.

According to reports, the country is already at breaking point to keep up with the demand for COVID-19 tests as cases continue to increase. The assistant secretary of health and human services, Dr. Brett Giroir, during Wednesday's briefing said a fourth federal "surge" testing site would be established in Phoenix, Arizona. On Tuesday, July 7, Giroir revealed three temporary coronavirus testing sites would open in Texas, Florida, and Louisiana, to help these states cope with surging cases of coronavirus infections.