Federal health officials on Friday announced updated clues on physical distance in schools and now said students should be only 3 feet apart, rather than 6.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), students can maintain a distance of three feet or more in classroom settings as long as there is universal masking, a change that could accelerate the reopening of schools.
The recommendation is for all K-12 students, regardless of whether community transfer is low, moderate or significant, the CDC said.
Middle and high school students should be at least 6 feet apart in communities where transmission is high, the CDC said if co-ordination is not possible. Co-ordination is when groups of students are kept together during the school day with the same peers and staff to reduce the risk of spread throughout the school. According to the CDC, it is likely that older students are exposed to COVID-19 and spread it as younger children.
The CDC also recommends 6 feet distance in common areas, such as foyers and auditoriums, and during activities such as singing, shouting, orchestrating, or exercising.
Health officials have made an example of the recommendations over the past few days, saying it will better point to the changing science.
“CDC is committed to leading with science and updating our guidance as new evidence emerges,” said CDC director Rochelle WalenskyRochelle Walensky The urgency of maintaining Fauci’s COVID-19 testing in the workplace: CDC is likely to shorten distance education for schools. WATCH LIVE: Fauci, CDC Director to Testify on COVID-19 said in a statement. ‘Safe personal education gives our children access to critical social and mental health services that prepare them for the future, in addition to the training they need to succeed. These updated recommendations provide the evidence-based roadmap to help schools reopen safely and remain open to personal instruction. ”
Three feet is the minimum distance that the American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization endorse. For many schools, it is not feasible to keep students 6 meters apart. In some cases, there is no distance.
But teachers’ unions are unlikely to support the idea. While she said she would reserve her verdict until the lead is read more carefully, U.S. Teachers Federation president Randi Weingarten told CNN on Friday that she was concerned that classrooms could be overcrowded, especially in places without adequate ventilation.
The CDC’s insistence on the 6-meter separation was a focal point in the reopening of the school debate. The agency acknowledged that personal education is not a major factor in the spread of communities, and that virus transmission is rarer in schools compared to the surrounding community.
However, the most recent CDC guidelines from last month suggest that schools in communities with low or moderate virus transmission, ‘to the greatest extent possible’ distance themselves.
Walensky told members of the House subcommittee on energy and trade oversight on Wednesday that the agency wants to update its guidance based on new data.
“Once our guidance came out, it became clear that 6 feet was one of the things that kept schools closed, and in that context, science was evolving,” Walensky said.
Updated at 12:17 pm