The United States reduced the minimum social distance between school students to 91 centimeters

Students can sit safely just three feet apart in the classroom as long as they are wearing masks, but they must maintain 1.8 meters (six feet) between them during sporting events, assemblies, lunches or choral practices, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported on Friday, in an easing of its COVID-19 prevention guidelines.

The revised recommendations assume a change from the previous rule, which provided for a social distance of 1.8 meters in all cases, which had considerably limited the number of students that could accommodate certain schools. Many institutions have had to remove their desks, shift hours and take other measures to keep children separate.

The 91 centimeters “gives school districts greater flexibility to accommodate more students over a long period of time.”said Kevin Quinn, director of maintenance and facilities at Mundelein High School in suburban Chicago.

The truth is that, in recent months, schools in some states ignored CDC guidelines, using 36 inches as the standard. Studies of what happened with some of them helped convince the agency, said Greta Massetti, who heads the CDC’s Community Interventions Task Force.

While there is some evidence that in-person education improves mental health and other benefits, “we don’t really have any evidence that 2 meters is needed to maintain low spread,” he said. . In addition, young children are less likely to get seriously ill from the coronavirus and they don’t seem to be spreading it as much as adults, and “it gives us confidence that that meter of physical distance is safe,” Massetti said.

The new guide also eliminates recommendations to use plastic screens or other barriers between desks. “We don’t have a lot of evidence of its effectiveness” in preventing transmission, Massetti said.

On another side, It is advisable to leave at least one meter of space between desks in elementary schools, even in cities with high community spread, provided students and teachers wear masks and take other precautions. The CDC has established that space can also be one meter in middle and high schools, as long as there is not a high level of community traffic. If there is, the space should be at least 2 meters. Anyway, Teachers and other adults should continue to stay six feet from each other and students, CDC says.

CDC director Dr Rochelle Walensky said the revised recommendations are an “evidence-based roadmap to help schools reopen safely and remain open for in-person instruction”. “Safe in-person education gives our children access to essential mental health and social services that prepare them for the future, as well as the education they need to be successful,” he said. added.

Last year, the CDC indicated that one way for schools to operate in was to keep children six feet away, the same rule that applies to workplaces and other environments. Instead, the World Health Organization suggested early on that one meter was sufficient in schools.

With AP information

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