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Ideally, the CDC should have mentioned high-quality masks or double-masking as well, Dr Allen said. (The agency released new mask wearing tips Thursday that included using two masks at a time.)
Other preventive measures recommended by the CDC for schools are those it has previously approved: wearing a universal mask for staff and students; physical distancing; hand washing and hygiene; cleaning; and contact tracing, in combination with isolation for those who have tested positive and quarantine for those who have been exposed to the virus.
The agency advised schools to refer all symptomatic students, teachers, staff and close contacts for diagnostic testing, and that schools implement weekly routine tests on students and staff, except when community transmission is low. But the expense and logistics of widespread screening would be a heavy burden on school districts.
The CDC skated slightly over the physical distance. The agency’s previous recommendation regarding distancing suggested that schools accommodate students on alternate schedules, to reduce the number of students in classrooms and hallways.
Rather, the new guidelines say that schools should implement physical distancing “to the extent possible”, but require it only when community transmission of the virus is high. The softer focus makes the guidelines easier for school districts to follow, Dr. Nuzzo said.
“Many communities have taken hybrid approaches, or in some cases just not open, because they haven’t been able to resolve this spacing issue,” she said. The guidelines give the impression that keeping at least six feet apart between students is ideal, “but any attempt to get kids back to school must not fail for that,” she added.
The six-foot rule, however, has been adopted as orthodoxy by many educators. Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, the country’s largest teachers’ union, said there should be no wiggle room over physical distance or other mitigation strategies.
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