NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The fine print of newly released federal guidelines for reopening schools raises serious questions about whether in-person classes should resume at a time when COVID-19 rages around much of the country.
Last week, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), under pressure from the White House, released a position paper highlighting “the importance of reopening America’s schools this fall.”
But separate guidelines issued for K-12 school administrators, which drew less public attention, are much more cautious.
“It is important to consider community transmission risk as schools reopen,” those CDC guidelines state.
“Computer simulations from Europe have suggested the school reopenings may further increase transmission risk in communities where transmission is already high.”
Elsewhere on the CDC website, the recommendation for school administrators is still to “make decisions that take into account the level of community transmission.” Also, if you are re-opening, find extra space to reduce density inside the schools 6/ pic.twitter.com/yM9dZyOC1m
— Phil Williams (@NC5PhilWilliams) July 25, 2020
The new CDC guidelines suggest, “If community transmission levels cannot be decreased, school closure is an important consideration.”
“Plans for virtual learning should be in place in the event of a school closure.”
Dr. Amy Gordon Bono, an internal medicine specialist who has a master's in public health, said that's the standard school should follow.
"Currently with the number of new cases that we’re seeing in our state, we really should be concerned about reopening our schools," Bono said.
"School administrators should look to that community transmission to guide their decision making."
NewsChannel 5 Investigates asked, "So what if schools say 'we have mitigation plans in place, we think we can do this?'"
Her answer: "I would say that the current levels of community transmission in our state do not support reopening classrooms for in-person education."
In Tennessee, several public and private schools are preparing to reopen even as almost every county in the state is showing what the Department of Health considers to be unacceptable rates of transmission of the coronavirus.
Bono noted that Alcoa City Schools in East Tennessee, which attempted a gradual opening, has already had one confirmed case.
"So numbers are not on our side to reopen schools, and we are now getting practical experience that we should strongly reconsider reopening our schools to in-person education at this moment," she added.
The doctor noted that the World Health Organization recommends that positivity rates -- the percent of new tests that come back positive -- should be knocked down to five percent or less.
Tennessee's positivity rate has been hovering near 10 percent.
UPDATED: Map from @TNDeptofHealth shows that 87 of Tennessee's 95 counties - 84% - now showing unacceptable rates of #COVID19 transmission. This means our elderly relatives and friends in those 87 counties cannot receive visitors in long-term care facilities. 14/ pic.twitter.com/ybSNphhC2g
— Phil Williams (@NC5PhilWilliams) July 25, 2020
Last week, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued a dramatic clarification of its statement back in June that "all policy considerations for the coming school year should start with a goal of having students physically present in school."
"This does not mean that we recommend that all schools open five days a week from the start of the school year," the academy’s Dr. Sean O'Leary told a congressional committee.
“Many parts of the country are currently experiencing uncontrolled spread of COVID-19. While the AAP urges those areas to make in-person learning as the goal, we recognize that many jurisdictions will need to utilize distance learning strategies until cases decline."
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The vice-chair of the academy's committee on infectious diseases, O'Leary told the subcommittee that, where there is uncontrolled community transmission, "it's inevitable that the virus is going to get into the schools, and schools are going to have to shut down."
U.S. Surgeon General Jerome M. Adams also told CBS This Morning last week that a community's COVID-19 transmission rate is the single most important determinant of whether schools can safely reopen.
School reopening advocates point to the emotional, psychological and educational importance of children being in the classroom – a position that the CDC guidelines reaffirm.
“Schools provide safe and supportive environments, structure and routines for children, as well as other needed support services to children and families,” the CDC notes.
Children are less likely to become ill when infected with the virus, and younger children are less likely to transmit the virus to others, the report adds.
UPDATE: Now, 8,214 school age children (ages 5-18) diagnosed with #COVID19. (True number of infections likely much higher since children are not routinely tested.) 6 of top 10 counties are in Middle Tennessee 15/ pic.twitter.com/jbUAeVaY2p
— Phil Williams (@NC5PhilWilliams) July 25, 2020
But a large-scale study out of South Korea recently reported that children ages 10-19 -- middle and high school ages -- can spread the virus as easily as adults.
In addition, a new study – shared by the Tennessee Department of Health last week on Twitter – concluded that “young, previously healthy adults can take a long time to recover from COVID-19.”
A new CDC report shows young, previously healthy adults can take a long time to recover from COVID-19. The study found nearly 1 in 5 adults ages 18-34 who had milder outpatient COVID-19 had not returned to their usual health after 14-21 days. Learn more: https://t.co/gkXplcob69 pic.twitter.com/FazShQNHtG
— TN Dept. of Health (@TNDeptofHealth) July 25, 2020
“The study found nearly one in five adults ages 18-34 who had milder outpatient COVID-19 had not returned to their usual health after 14-21 days,” the Department of Health tweeted.
Many high school seniors are 18 years old.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates asked Dr. Bono, "All of the evidence seems to indicate there’s not a huge risk to children themselves. What is your major concern?"
She noted that young people are not completely without risk, plus there are the adults who run the schools.
"Whenever we are considering our schools, we’re not just considering the students," Bono said.
"We are considering our teachers and custodians, the administrators. There are a lot of people that are at school that are not just children that are at high risk."
The CDC guidelines also encourage schools to implement practices called cohorting (or pods) “where a group of students (and sometimes teachers) stay together throughout the school day to minimize exposure for students, teachers and staff across the school environment.”
It notes that “in middle and high-school settings, cohorting of students and teachers may be more challenging.”
What if your school re-opens and someone contracts #COVID19? The CDC says every single person in contact with the infected person should be tested and/or quarantine. If every class does not have an online learning option, what happens then? This could happen multiple times. 8/ pic.twitter.com/MG2G9BUt8U
— Phil Williams (@NC5PhilWilliams) July 25, 2020
“However, strategies such as creating block schedules or keeping students separated by grade can help to keep smaller groups of students together and limit mixing,” the CDC suggests.
The CDC also said reopening schools should also include commitments to “notification when there are COVID-19 cases in the school.”
